A police officer in Mississippi who shot and killed one-year-old Kohen Wiley during an encounter outside a Walmart store has resigned, days after the state’s attorney general concluded that his use of deadly force was justified. Sergeant Hunter Foster, 33, left the Senatobia Police Department following the June 14 shooting, which also left a woman seriously injured. The child’s family continues to challenge the official findings and is calling for a federal investigation.
What Happened to Kohen Wiley?
On 14 June 2026, police officers and sheriff’s deputies were at a Walmart store in Senatobia, Mississippi, dealing with an unrelated incident when an employee alerted them to two women allegedly fleeing the store.
The women were Kohen’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, and her friend, Latoya Ferrell. They were suspected of taking diapers and baby clothing without paying.
Both women have denied stealing anything. According to court-record checks reported by the Associated Press, neither had been charged in connection with the alleged shoplifting.
Officers followed the women into the car park, where Ferrell entered the driver’s seat and Wiley sat in the front passenger seat holding her son.
What followed unfolded in seconds.
Video footage shows several officers approaching the vehicle with firearms drawn. As officers shouted for the driver to stop, the car reversed out of its parking space and collided with another parked vehicle.
The driver then accelerated forwards.
Sergeant Foster was positioned near the front of the vehicle as it moved towards him. He moved out of its path and fired through the front passenger-side window.
Kohen, sitting on his mother’s lap, was struck by gunfire and later died in hospital.
Ferrell was also shot and seriously injured.
Mississippi Attorney General Rules Shooting Justified
On 19 October, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced that her office had completed its review of the incident following an investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.
The Attorney General’s Office concluded that the officer’s use of force was justified.
In a statement reported by Mississippi Public Broadcasting, Fitch said there was insufficient evidence of criminal conduct to present the case to a grand jury.
The office declined prosecution and closed its investigation.
The decision meant Foster would not face state criminal charges arising from the shooting.
However, the announcement provided little detailed public explanation of how investigators assessed the officer’s actions, the immediate danger he faced or the alternatives available to him.
The finding did not resolve the family’s concerns about whether deadly force was necessary.
Body-Camera Footage Raises Further Questions
On 22 October, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety released body-camera and other footage from the encounter.
The recordings show officers pursuing the women into the car park, drawing firearms and attempting to stop their vehicle.
They also show Foster moving into the car’s path before firing as it passes him.
The footage has become central to a dispute over whether Foster faced an immediate threat that justified opening fire.
According to the Associated Press, Foster’s attorney, Martin Zummach, maintains that his client had no choice but to shoot because the vehicle was moving towards him.
Zummach has also stated that Foster did not know a child was inside the vehicle when he opened fire.
An independent review reported by Mississippi Today raised questions about the officers’ tactics.
Six policing and use-of-force experts who examined the footage criticised decisions that placed officers directly in the vehicle’s path. The publication also reported that Senatobia Police Department policy instructs officers to move out of the path of an approaching vehicle.
An attorney who represents law enforcement officers defended the officers’ tactics and cautioned against judging their split-second decisions solely from video recordings.
These assessments raise separate questions about whether the shooting was tactically avoidable, even though state prosecutors concluded there was insufficient evidence for criminal charges.
Kohen’s Family Rejects the Decision
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, representing Kohen’s family, has strongly criticised the state’s findings.
The family maintains that Foster was not in immediate danger when he fired and argues that the available footage does not justify the use of deadly force.
An independent autopsy commissioned by the family indicated that Kohen was shot from the side of the vehicle. The family believes this evidence undermines the account that Foster was firing directly at an oncoming car.
The bullet’s trajectory is one element of the dispute, but does not, by itself, establish whether Foster faced an immediate threat when he fired.
Kohen’s mother has also said she tried to show officers that she was holding a child inside the vehicle.
Her account of the incident remains disputed.
Following Foster’s resignation, Crump said:
Turning in a badge does not erase responsibility for taking a life.
The family’s legal team is demanding that the US Department of Justice conduct an independent federal investigation.
It is also seeking Foster’s permanent decertification as a police officer.
Officer Resigns but Remains Certified
Foster’s resignation was accepted by the Senatobia Board of Aldermen on 21 October and took effect immediately.
Mayor Greg Graves publicly confirmed the decision on 23 October.
Foster’s lawyer said the officer had resigned for the benefit of the city and police department, and to allow the healing process to begin.
However, the resignation does not prevent Foster from working in law enforcement elsewhere.
The Mississippi Department of Public Safety confirmed to the Associated Press that Foster remained certified as a police officer as of 23 October.
The family is seeking to have that certification withdrawn.
No criminal charges against Foster have been announced, and a federal investigation has not been confirmed.
Interim Police Chief Also Steps Down
Foster’s departure was followed by another leadership change at the Senatobia Police Department.
On 23 October, officials announced that interim police chief Angelica Maze would step down from the leadership role, with the change taking effect on 25 October.
Maze had taken over in September following the dismissal of former police chief Harold Vanderford, whose removal followed reporting about racist language in private text messages.
Maze’s departure does not mean she has left the department. Local reporting indicates that she is returning to her previous position as a lieutenant.
Lamorris Hampton, previously the department’s second-in-command, has been appointed interim police chief.
The reason for Maze’s decision has not been publicly established.
The latest changes leave the department facing continued questions about leadership, public confidence and its handling of the fatal shooting.
Previous Civil Rights Lawsuits Against Foster
Foster’s earlier policing career has also attracted scrutiny.
An Associated Press examination of court records found that he had previously been named in a federal civil rights lawsuit involving a 2019 arrest outside a Waffle House in Southaven, Mississippi.
The lawsuit, filed in 2021, alleged that officers had used excessive force during the arrest of two men.
Foster and the other officers denied wrongdoing.
The case was settled in 2022 without a finding that Foster had committed the alleged misconduct.
Local broadcaster Action News 5 has also reported a separate excessive-force lawsuit concerning Foster’s time at the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office. That case was dismissed.
Neither lawsuit establishes misconduct in the shooting of Kohen Wiley, but both form part of the public examination of Foster’s policing history.
What Happens Next?
The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office has closed its criminal review, but several important matters remain unresolved.
The family continues to seek federal scrutiny of the shooting and a decision on Foster’s police certification.
There are also questions about whether officers followed departmental policies, whether the confrontation could have been handled differently and whether further civil proceedings will follow.
Tate County officials have reportedly considered whether charges should be brought against the women involved in the original encounter. No such charges had been confirmed in the latest available reporting.
For Kohen’s family, the state ruling and the officer’s resignation have not brought the matter to an end.
Kohen would have celebrated his second birthday in early November.
His death has left a family grieving and a Mississippi community confronting difficult questions about police accountability, the use of deadly force and the protection of innocent bystanders.
The central question now is whether further investigation will provide answers that the state criminal review has not resolved.
Sources
Associated Press · Reuters · Mississippi Today · ABC News · Action News 5 · Ben Crump statement
