Orlando vigil demands justice for Kohen Wiley and all victims of police crimes
Orlando, FL – On Tuesday, July 14, a dozen members of the Orlando community gathered at Lake Eola for a vigil marking one month since an officer with the Senatobia Police Department in Mississippi shot and killed one-year-old Kohen Wiley.
The event was organized by Orlando Against Police Crimes to remember Wiley’s life, cut short by police violence, and to echo the family's call for transparency, accountability and justice for their baby boy.
“Wiley never had a chance to grow up to experience any number of things that we all take for granted on a daily basis – never got to form any childhood memories, never got to experience being a kid,” said Richard Thomas, member of Orlando Against Police Crimes.
Those who spoke made connections between this police shooting and several others that have happened in Orlando at the hands of Orlando Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff's Office. In particular, deadly incidents that occurred outside of Walmarts due to suspected theft.
“On February 19, 16-year-old Jairus Jones was shot and killed at a Walmart in Poinciana by an off-duty Osceola County deputy. Just three days later, Jason Anthony Beal, age 48, was shot by Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies and taken to a hospital for his injuries. Both Jones and Beal were suspected of shoplifting.”
The group gathered under the Florida rain to hear speeches from various activists and sang songs of unity and perseverance, led by the Orlando Singing Resistance.
Before leaving, those in attendance called for local accountability by committing themselves to the ongoing campaign to reinstate the Orlando Civilian Police Review Board. They laid flowers at the foot of a large poster of Kohen Wiley and used tea light candles to spell out the word “Justice.”