Skip to contentSwipe for next articleIndependent Bulletin homepageDownload our appAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.Join todayAlready a member? Log inBrittney DonovanSunday 01 November 2026 15:08 GMTMississippi Police FireA fire broke out early Saturday morning at the Senatobia Police Department in Mississippi, prompting an arson investigation by local authorities and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.The police department has faced mounting public outrage following the June shooting death of one-year-old Kohen Wiley, a Black child killed by an officer during a shoplifting investigation at a Walmart.Sergeant Hunter Foster, the officer involved in the fatal shooting of Wiley, resigned earlier this month after the Mississippi Attorney General's office cleared him of criminal wrongdoing.The department faced further scandal in September when investigative news reports revealed that Police Chief Harold Hal Vanderford repeatedly used racist slurs in private text messages.Following the text message revelations, the Senatobia Board of Aldermen voted unanimously to fire Vanderford, rejecting a resignation letter he had submitted earlier that day.In fullTroubled police department catches fire amid fury over 1-year-old's killing and chief's racist textsMore bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in