Police Officer Who Shot 1-Year-Old Kohen Wiley Resigns After State Clears Him — But His Family Says the Fight for Justice Is Far From Over

A Mississippi police officer who fatally shot a 1-year-old boy during an encounter outside a Walmart has resigned from the force, days after state investigators ruled that his use of diᩚadℓy force was justified.

Hunter Foster, the Senatobia police officer who fired the fatal śh́óts, submitted his resignation in October. Mayor Greg Graves confirmed that the city’s board of aldermen accepted it on October 21, with the resignation taking effect immediately.

The decision came after the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office concluded that Foster had acted lawfully when he opened fire on a moving vehicle on June 14, 𝘬iᩚlling little Kohen Wiley.

The śh́óóting happened in the parking lot of a Walmart in Senatobia, about 40 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. Officers were responding to a report of suspected shoplifting when they encountered two women leaving the store with Kohen.

According to investigators, officers approached the vehicle and ordered the driver to stop. The car reversed, struck a parked vehicle and then moved forward as officers stood nearby.

Foster fired three śh́óts into the vehicle. One struck Kohen, who was sitting in the front passenger seat in his mother’s arms. The driver was also wounded.

The child was rushed to hospital but could not be saved.

The incident attracted widespread attention after authorities released body-camera and surveillance footage in October. The recordings showed officers running toward the vehicle with their guns drawn and Foster firing as the car moved past him.

Kohen’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, has disputed the official account of what happened. She said she was holding her baby up to make officers aware that a child was inside the vehicle.

The family also disputes the claim that the driver was attempting to run over officers. Their attorney, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, has argued that the śh́óóting was excessive and questioned whether diᩚadℓy force was necessary.

An independent autopsy commissioned by the family reportedly indicated that Kohen was shot from the side of the vehicle, a finding the family’s legal team says challenges the official explanation.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, however, announced that the śh́óóting was justified and that Foster would not face criminal charges.

Foster’s attorney, Martin Zummach, defended his client’s actions, saying the officer had no choice because the vehicle was moving toward him. The family’s lawyers strongly reject that interpretation.

Following the resignation, Crump said that leaving the police department was not the same as accepting responsibility. He called for Foster to lose his law enforcement certification, which could prevent him from working as a police officer elsewhere, and urged the US Department of Justice to open a federal investigation.

Foster remained certified as a law enforcement officer after leaving the department, according to state officials.

The controversy has also brought renewed scrutiny to the Senatobia Police Department. Interim police chief Angelica Maze resigned from that temporary leadership role around the same time, returning to her previous position within the department. Her reasons for stepping down were not publicly established.

The department was already facing criticism following the September firing of former police chief Harold Vanderford, after reports emerged alleging that he had used racist slurs in private text messages.

Then, on October 31, a fire broke out at the Senatobia Police Department. Federal authorities began investigating the incident as possible arson, and an arrest connected to the fire was reported in early November. Officials have not established a connection between the fire and the controversy surrounding Kohen’s dєatᩚh.

For Kohen’s family, the officer’s resignation has done little to ease the grief of losing a child who would have celebrated his second birthday on November 1.

His relatives and their legal team continue to demand answers, arguing that the release of the footage has raised questions that deserve further independent examination.

Although state authorities have cleared Foster of criminal wrongdoing, the family’s campaign for federal scrutiny and professional accountability remains ongoing.

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