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Mississippi officer will not be charged in fatal police shooting of 1-year-old

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 4 outlets across the spectrum.

5 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

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Image via Straight Arrow NewsHow images are chosenReport this image

Mississippi’s attorney general announced that the police officer who fatally shot 1-year-old Kohen Wiley will not be charged, and her office said the force was justified. The shooting happened June 14 outside a Walmart in Senatobia, Mississippi, where Kohen’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, and a friend were accused of shoplifting. Officers said the car was driven toward them before they fired. Video that surfaced a day after the announcement appears to show the officer firing three more shots into the side of the car after it was no longer headed at him. The attorney general has not explained her conclusion.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Mississippi’s attorney general announced the officer who fatally shot 1-year-old Kohen Wiley will not be charged, and her office said the force was justified.

    Reported byLeft1Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CBS News
    Center
    Straight Arrow News
    Right
    New York Post

  2. The shooting happened June 14 outside a Walmart in Senatobia, Mississippi, where Kohen’s mother and a friend were accused of shoplifting.

    Reported byCenter1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    Straight Arrow News
    Right
    Daily Mail

  3. Officers said the car was driven at them before they fired.

    Reported byCenter1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    Straight Arrow News
    Right
    Daily Mail

  4. Video that surfaced a day after the announcement appears to show the officer firing three more shots into the side of the car after it was no longer headed at him.

    One outletStraight Arrow News· Center

  5. The officer had been accused twice of directing racially offensive language at coworkers, and was placed on leave after the shooting.

    One outletStraight Arrow News· Center

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • The officer fired because the car was driven toward officers.

    Officers on the scene and the attorney general’s office say the shooting was justified. Straight Arrow News reports that video surfacing a day after the announcement appears to show three shots fired into the side of the car after it was no longer headed at the officer.

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports the attorney general will not charge the officer who fatally shot 1-year-old Kohen Wiley. The left stresses video before the shooting, the center stresses footage appearing to show shots from the side, and the right stresses bodycam footage and the shoplifting accusation.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    Headline leads with video of the moments before the shooting, and the description centers the attorney general’s decision not to charge the officer.

    Video shows moments leading up to police fatally shooting toddler
    CBS NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    Headline frames the video as complicating the state’s account, and the excerpt sets the officers’ claim against footage that appears to show shots fired from the side.

    Video complicates Mississippi’s account of police shooting that killed toddler
    Straight Arrow NewsCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    2 outlets

    Headlines lead with bodycam footage and the shoplifting accusation, casting the car as driven at officers; the Daily Mail headline also calls the footage shocking.

    Bodycam shows moment Mississippi cop opens fire on Loaded verb“fleeing”The word presents the driver's movement as flight from police, a conclusion the reporting does not establish beyond the allegation.More neutral: driving away fromDisagree with this highlight? ‘shoplifters,’ killing 1-year-old boy — as AG says it was ‘justified’
    New York PostRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right3

    ChaoticShockingfleeing

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    ChaoticMore neutral: Bodycam footage

    The word adds drama to footage whose contents are described in the rest of the sentence.

    Chaotic bodycam footage has revealed the moments that led up to the fatal police shooting of…

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Sensational language

    ShockingMore neutral: Bodycam footage shows

    The word adds drama that the footage description does not need to convey the events.

    Shocking final moments of baby captured on police bodycam after his mother and aunt…

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    fleeingMore neutral: driving away from

    The word presents the driver's movement as flight from police, a conclusion the reporting does not establish beyond the allegation.

    Bodycam shows moment Mississippi cop opens fire on fleeing ‘shoplifters,’ killing 1-year-old boy — as AG says it was ‘justified’

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

1 outlet

Leads with

  • video of the moments before the shooting
  • attorney general’s decision not to charge
  • death of a 1-year-old

Leaves out

  • officers’ account that the car was driven toward them
  • shoplifting accusation against the mother and friend

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the headline from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • footage contradicting the officers’ account
  • attorney general’s finding of justification
  • officer’s prior complaints and the fired police chief
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

2 outlets

Leads with

  • bodycam footage of the shooting
  • shoplifting accusation
  • car driven at officers
  • attorney general found force justified

Leaves out

  • video appearing to show shots fired into the side of the car after it was no longer headed at the officer

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • New York PostRight

    Bodycam shows moment Mississippi cop opens fire on Loaded verb“fleeing”The word presents the driver's movement as flight from police, a conclusion the reporting does not establish beyond the allegation.More neutral: driving away fromDisagree with this highlight? ‘shoplifters,’ killing 1-year-old boy — as AG says it was ‘justified’

    "In this incident, the Attorney General's Office found the use of force was justified,” the attorney general's office said in a statement on Monday

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)
  • Daily MailRight

    Sensational language“Shocking”The word adds drama that the footage description does not need to convey the events.More neutral: Bodycam footage showsDisagree with this highlight? final moments of baby captured on police bodycam after his mother and aunt 'shoplifted' at Walmart then drove car at cops who opened fire

    The tragic episode unfolded June 14 outside a Walmart in Senatobia, Mississippi, where Kohen Wiley was shot dead after his mother Vellesiya Wiley and a friend were allegedly caught shoplifting.

    Read at Daily Mail (opens in a new tab)

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    CBS News, Oct 21, 2:08 PM EDT

  • Center

    3 hr 40 min later

    Its first report, Oct 21, 5:48 PM EDT

  • Right

    1 hr 28 min later

    Its first report, Oct 21, 3:37 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. CBS NewsLeftOct 21, 2:08 PM EDT
  2. Daily MailRightOct 21, 3:37 PM EDT
  3. New York PostRightOct 21, 3:49 PM EDT
  4. Straight Arrow NewsCenterOct 21, 5:48 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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