Statement on the Police Killing of Kohen Wiley

Advocates for Youth condemns the latest horrific and deadly act of violence by police: the killing of 1 year old Kohen Wiley in Mississippi. 

We stand with the family and community experiencing this awful loss and we share their grief and their anger.  For too long, Black and Brown families and communities across the United States have lived in fear of violence at the hands of police. That a child in his mother’s arms should be killed by agents of the government is unbearable and unconscionable.

We’ve said it before: we cannot and must not accept a society that forces young people to live with fear, violence, and trauma every day. We must abolish the systems that put young people at risk and work toward a future that is safe for every young person. We mourn Kohen Wiley and all victims of police violence.