Police Officer Who Shot and Killed 1-Year-Old Kohen Wiley Resigns After State Clears Him of Criminal Wrongdoing

A Mississippi police officer who fatally shot a 1-year-old boy during an incident outside Walmart has resigned from the department, months after the child’s death sparked calls for accountability and renewed scrutiny of police use of force.

Hunter Foster, an officer with the Senatobia Police Department, resigned on October 23, 2026, according to Mayor Greg Graves. The department’s interim police chief, Angelica Maze, also stepped down, local officials confirmed.

The shooting occurred on June 14 in a Walmart parking lot in Senatobia, Mississippi. Officers were responding to a shoplifting report when they encountered two women leaving the store with a child. The women were suspected of stealing diapers and baby clothing, but neither has been charged in connection with the alleged shoplifting.

Police said officers attempted to stop the vehicle as it began moving. Authorities maintained that the driver accelerated toward an officer, prompting Foster to fire his weapon. The bullet struck 1-year-old Kohen Wiley, who was sitting on his mother’s lap in the front passenger seat. The child was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Another person in the vehicle was also injured.

Body-camera footage released in October showed officers approaching the vehicle as it reversed and struck a parked car. When the vehicle moved forward, Foster stepped toward it and fired through the front passenger window. The footage has become a central focus of the public debate over whether the use of deadly force was necessary.

On October 19, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced that the state’s investigation had concluded the officer’s use of force was justified. The decision cleared Foster of criminal wrongdoing in the shooting.

However, the family disputes that conclusion. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Kohen’s relatives, has called for a federal investigation, arguing that the video and an independent autopsy raise questions about whether Foster faced an imminent threat when he fired. The family says the officer’s resignation does not resolve those concerns.

Foster’s attorney, Martin Zummach, has maintained that the officer had no choice but to fire because the vehicle was moving toward him. The officer’s resignation was described by his lawyer as an effort to allow the city and police department to begin healing.

Kohen’s death has left his family grieving a child who would have celebrated his second birthday in early November. His mother has denied that she or her friend stole anything from Walmart.

Although Foster has left the Senatobia Police Department, reports indicate that he remains certified as a law enforcement officer and could potentially seek employment with another agency. The family continues to call for further investigation and accountability.

The case has raised difficult questions about the use of deadly force during low-level suspected offenses, the risks to children caught in police encounters and the difference between an officer’s resignation and a formal finding of wrongdoing.

Source:  PEOPLE