SENATOBIA, MISSISSIPPI — The police chief of a small northern Mississippi city where a 1-year-old Black child was fatally shot by police has been fired amid renewed controversy surrounding the department.

Senatobia Police Chief Harold Vanderford submitted his resignation on Tuesday, but the city’s board of aldermen declined to accept it and instead voted unanimously to terminate him, according to the city clerk. The clerk did not provide further details about the reasons for the decision.

The firing followed reports by The New York Times, Mississippi Today and Verite News alleging that Vanderford had used racist slurs in private text conversations with a colleague. The decision also came as the city continued to face scrutiny following the fatal shooting of toddler Kohen Wiley.

Wiley was killed on June 14 when a Senatobia police officer opened fire on a vehicle while responding to a reported shoplifting incident at a Walmart. A woman in the vehicle was also wounded.

Wiley’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, denied that she or a friend who was with her had stolen anything. No charges have been filed against either woman.

The officer who fired the shots has been placed on administrative leave while the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation investigates the shooting.

Wiley’s death sparked anger in Senatobia, a city of more than 8,000 people located about 40 miles south of Memphis. The child and his mother were Black, and the shooting intensified existing tensions between Black residents and local police.

Alderman Demetrius Garrett said the city board had a responsibility to protect the integrity and public trust of the police department.

“I still believe in unity. But unity does not mean ignoring serious issues; it means standing together for what is right,” Garrett wrote in a Facebook post.

The city had previously addressed allegations involving Vanderford’s private messages. In a statement issued on August 25, officials said the police chief had appeared before the mayor and board of aldermen to answer questions and would remain in his position.

Another alderman, Chris McConnell, called for an independent investigation into the police department. He said such an investigation should examine departmental leadership, internal culture, the handling of complaints and misconduct, financial practices and whether the city board had received enough information to properly oversee the department.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Wiley’s family, described Vanderford’s firing as the “right decision” and called on the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation to release body-camera footage from the shooting.

The Senatobia Police Department declined to comment on the chief’s firing, while Vanderford could not immediately be reached for comment.

The controversy surrounding Wiley’s death is part of a longer history of scrutiny involving the Senatobia Police Department. Vanderford was appointed chief on September 29, 2025, after the board declined to reappoint former chief Richard Chandler.

Chandler’s tenure had included several controversies, including the 2023 arrest of a 10-year-old Black boy for urinating in public. Another incident involved an officer allegedly threatening a woman with a Taser and pulling her from her vehicle during a dispute over a disabled parking space outside the same Walmart where Wiley was later shot.

Community activist Patrick Lumumba said the change in leadership had not addressed what he described as deeper concerns within the department.

Following Wiley’s death, Lumumba formed the Senatobia Committee for Accountability and Transparency, a community watchdog group seeking answers about the June shooting and advocating for changes to local policing.

Lieutenant Angelica Maze is expected to serve as interim police chief. Lumumba expressed confidence in her leadership, describing her as a “good person.”

The investigation into the shooting remains ongoing, and the officer involved remains on administrative leave.

SOURCE: The Associated Press, Sophie Bates, September 24, 2026.