The police officer who shot and killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley when he fired into a moving vehicle in a Walmart parking lot has resigned, Senatobia Mayor Greg Graves confirmed Friday.
Sgt. Hunter Foster’s resignation comes after the Mississippi Attorney General’s office concluded its monthslong investigation earlier this week, clearing him of criminal wrongdoing and deeming his use of force justified.
On June 14, officers were responding to an unrelated shoplifting call at the Senatobia Walmart when a store employee alerted them to two women fleeing the store. Videos released Thursday, including Foster’s body-worn camera footage, depict the encounter. The footage shows Kohen’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, and her friend running across the parking lot and entering their vehicle. As officers approached the car with guns drawn, the vehicle reversed and collided with a parked car.
Foster’s attorney, Martin Zummach, stated that Foster fired because the vehicle was moving toward him, leaving him with "no choice." However, Kohen’s mother has disputed this, and attorneys for the family claim the fatal shot came from the side of the car, not the front, challenging the assertion of imminent danger. An independent autopsy commissioned by the family reportedly reached the same conclusion. The family’s legal team has called for a federal investigation into the incident.
Vellesiya Wiley and her friend have not been charged in connection with the shoplifting incident, according to state and county court records. Kohen Wiley would have celebrated his second birthday in early November.