Hunter Foster, the Senatobia, Mississippi police officer who shot and killed one-year-old Kohen Wiley during a shoplifting response, has resigned from the force. The Mississippi Attorney General’s office has ruled the shooting justified, a finding contested by the family’s legal team. On June 14, officers responded to a reported shoplifting incident at a Walmart. Footage released Thursday shows Foster and other officers pursuing a vehicle allegedly fleeing with stolen diapers. As the vehicle accelerated toward officers, Foster fired three shots, striking the driver and fatally wounding Kohen Wiley, who was in the back seat. The family disputes that the vehicle posed a threat, and an independent autopsy supports this claim, finding the fatal shot came from the side of the car. Ben Crump, attorney for the Wiley family, is calling for a federal investigation and decertification of Foster. Vellesiya Wiley, Kohen’s mother, and her friend have not been charged with shoplifting. Foster’s resignation was accepted by the Senatobia board of aldermen on October 21 and was effective immediately. Kohen would have turned two on November 1.
Five officers initially approached the vehicle with weapons drawn after a Walmart employee alerted them to the fleeing women, according to a Mississippi Bureau of Investigation report. The vehicle reversed, colliding with a parked car, before accelerating forward as Foster moved in front of it. He fired his weapon after appearing to put his hands on the hood of the vehicle as he jumped out of the way. The car continued driving after the shooting. Martin Zummach, Foster’s attorney, has stated Foster had “no choice” but to fire, a claim disputed by Crump, who argues the bullet that killed Kohen was not justified and suggests the child’s life was devalued compared to the stolen diapers.
Our reading is that the differing emphases in media coverage, some leading with the justification of the shooting, others with the officer’s resignation and claims of devaluation of life, reflect a clear division in how this incident is being framed. The contested autopsy and the family’s dispute of the threat posed by the vehicle suggest a significant disagreement over the facts, while the Attorney General’s ruling and Foster’s resignation indicate an attempt to close the matter legally. The lack of charges against the mother and her friend, despite the initial shoplifting report, complicates the narrative.
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