On June 14th, 2026, Senatobia, Mississippi police responded to a shoplifting call at a Walmart and opened fire on a sedan carrying one-year-old Kohen Kartier Wiley, his mother Vellesiya Wiley, and a family friend. Kohen was killed. The friend was critically injured. The state's own account says officers already knew there was a child in that vehicle before the shooting — which raises the obvious question of why the response was still gunfire.

Two accounts of what happened next directly conflict. The state says the driver moved toward officers and nearly struck one. The family says the car was moving away — and cellphone footage reportedly obtained by a Memphis television station appears to support that version. Only one of these can be true, and the body camera footage that could resolve it has not been released. Authorities have asked the public to avoid speculation while the investigation continues — the same authorities who released their own account of contested facts before any evidence was made public.

This episode goes through what's documented and what's alleged: the family's statement, the state's statement, the protests in Senatobia, the officer placed on administrative leave but not named, and the pattern this case fits into — including the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis earlier this year, where official accounts and video evidence also diverged.

This is a developing story. We'll follow it as more comes out.

Timestamps
00:00 - Disclaimer
01:01 - Introduction
02:34 - The Thesis
04:20 - Opening
09:13 - The Background
12:09 - The Data
14:50 - Personal Thoughts
19:19 - Closing

Afternoon Coffee Break with Darren Watts. Follow the show wherever you listen. Rate and review on Apple Podcasts — thirty seconds, it matters. Number 17 Cult All Time. Number 33 Business News All Time on Goodpods — because of you.