Mississippi Police Officer Resigns After Fatal Shooting of 1-Year-Old Kohen Wiley

A Mississippi police officer who fatally shot a 1-year-old boy during an encounter outside a Walmart has resigned, days after body-camera footage showing the shooting was released to the public.

Hunter Foster, a former officer with the Senatobia Police Department, resigned following the June 14 death of Kohen Wiley. The resignation was confirmed by Senatobia Mayor Greg Graves and attorneys representing the child’s family.

The shooting happened in the parking lot of a Walmart in Senatobia, Mississippi. Kohen was sitting on his mother Vellesiya Wiley’s lap in the front passenger seat of a car driven by her friend, Latoya Ferrell.

Officers were already at the store responding to an unrelated matter when a Walmart employee alerted them to two women suspected of shoplifting. The officers then approached the vehicle as the women prepared to leave.

Body-camera footage released by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety on October 22 shows several officers approaching the car with their weapons drawn. Officers can be heard repeatedly shouting for the driver to stop.

The vehicle first reversed and struck a parked car before moving forward. Foster, who was positioned near the front of the vehicle, fired three shots. The gunfire struck Ferrell, injuring her, and fatally wounded Kohen, who was inside the passenger compartment.

The car subsequently reached a hospital, where Kohen was pronounced dead.

The footage has intensified public scrutiny of the incident and renewed questions about the decision to use deadly force during the encounter. Kohen’s mother has said she raised her child in an effort to show officers that a baby was inside the vehicle.

State officials ruled the shooting justified

On October 19, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced that the shooting was legally justified based on the findings of the state investigation. The decision cleared Foster of criminal wrongdoing in connection with the fatal shooting.

Foster’s attorney, Martin Zummach, has maintained that the officer faced an immediate threat from the moving vehicle and had no choice but to fire. He said Foster did not know a child was inside the car.

The Wiley family strongly disputes the state’s conclusion. Their attorney, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, criticized the officers’ response and argued that the situation escalated too quickly.

Crump and attorney Van Turner have called for a federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. The family is also seeking Foster’s permanent decertification as a law enforcement officer.

Kohen’s grandmother, LaSandra Williams, has spoken publicly about the family’s difficulty accepting the state’s decision.

Family says resignation is not the end of the fight

Foster’s resignation has not ended the family’s efforts to obtain further accountability. Their legal team says it intends to continue pursuing an independent federal review of the shooting.

The case has also raised questions about how police officers should respond when a vehicle moves during an encounter, particularly when civilians may be inside.

Although authorities concluded that Foster’s use of force was justified under the circumstances described in the investigation, the family maintains that the shooting should be examined further.

Kohen’s death remains at the center of a dispute between the state’s findings and the family’s demand for additional scrutiny. For his relatives, the officer’s resignation does not resolve the questions surrounding the final moments of the child’s life.