Senatobia officer resigns as his body cam video in Kohen Wiley shooting is released

SENATOBIA, MS. (WMC) - The Senatobia police officer who shot and killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley in a Walmart parking lot in June has resigned from the force, attorneys for the Wiley family told Action News 5.

Officer Hunter Foster’s body camera footage, just released by the Mississippi Department of Pubic Safety, shows him running out of the store with other officers after a Walmart employee told him accused shoplifters were on the run. Within 13 seconds, Foster’s gun was aimed at the car with Wiley inside it.

What the video shows

Body camera audio captures officers shouting “Stop the car. Stop. Stop.” as gunfire is heard along with breaking glass and screeching brakes. The car continued moving.

Three shots were fired, all from Foster’s weapon. The shots hit and injured the driver and hit and killed Wiley, who was in his mother’s arms in the front passenger seat.

Kohen Wiley’s grandmother, LaSandra Williams, said she has seen the video.

“I’m having a difficult time understanding the word justified. I just don’t understand,” Williams said.

Attorneys respond

Williams, her family and their attorneys have reviewed the footage. Attorney Ben Crump addressed the shooting at a news conference on Thursday.

“America, our society must have more empathy for human life,” Crump said.

The family’s legal team said Foster has resigned from the Senatobia Police Department. Crump said he wants Foster decertified.

The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office ruled the shooting justified based on the investigation conducted by the Department of Public Safety. Attorney Van Turner said the fight for justice for Kohen Wiley is not over.

“We’re going to petition the Department of Justice to open an investigation to make sure that we get justice for this baby. It just won’t end here. We have to take it all the way to the top,” Turner said.

In a statement sent Friday, Crump responded to Foster’s resignation:

“Officer Foster’s resignation is hardly a step toward accountability, and it is certainly not justice. A badge cannot simply be turned in to escape responsibility for taking the life of an innocent 1-year-old baby. Kohen Wiley is never coming home to his mother, and no resignation can undo the devastating consequences of that officer’s actions.

“We will not allow this resignation to be the end of the story. Kohen’s family deserves answers, a full accounting of what happened, and meaningful accountability. We will continue demanding permanent decertification and a federal investigation. Turning in a badge does not erase responsibility for taking a life, and it will not end our fight for justice for Kohen and his family.”

State investigation findings

The state’s investigation found the driver drove into the officers, and the video supports that finding. Several officers drew their guns, but only one officer, Foster, opened fire.

“The bullet that killed Kohen Wiley,” said Crump, “was not justified. This decision sends a message that a Black baby boy, his life, is not as valuable as the white diapers that he is wrapped in.”

Kohen Wiley’s mother said she held her baby up in the air to show officers a child was in the car.

Action News 5 slowed multiple body cam videos down to see if it was easy to spot her and her child in the front seat, but it was not, especially given how quickly the incident escalated.

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