Daijiworld Media Network - Mississippi
Mississippi, Oct 27: A Mississippi police officer who fired the shot that killed one-year-old Kohen Wiley has resigned from the Senatobia Police Department, a city official confirmed.
Hunter Foster turned in his badge and gun a few days after the office of state Attorney General Lynn Fitch issued a statement describing the fatal shooting as a “justified” use of force. Jada Mayer, Senatobia’s human resources clerk, confirmed the resignation but did not disclose the reason for his departure.
Foster’s lawyer, Martin Zummach, said his client resigned for the good of the city and police department and to allow the healing process to begin. He added that Foster remained shocked and deeply distressed by the child’s death and strongly denied knowing that a child was in the car or that those fleeing the scene were suspected of shoplifting.
Foster’s resignation came before Interim Police Chief Angelica Maze stepped down. The city’s board of aldermen appointed LaMorris Hampton as her successor during a special meeting on Friday, City Clerk Katie Harbin confirmed.
Harbin also confirmed the authenticity of a resignation letter Maze addressed to the city’s residents and which was published by local media. In the letter, Maze described her brief tenure as having taken place during a “difficult time” for the city. She said she planned to return to her position as a lieutenant overseeing school police, training and public relations.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) said officers had responded to a report of shoplifting at a local Walmart on June 14. According to the agency, officers saw two people and a child fleeing the store and entering a vehicle.
However, Zummach said Foster was part of a team investigating an unrelated case involving an adult who had allegedly attempted to sexually assault a minor on the store’s property.
According to the lawyer, officers involved in that investigation were told only that the individuals were running.
The fatal shooting sparked widespread outrage in Senatobia, a small town about 40 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee, where Black residents have long complained of police harassment.
Kohen’s mother, identified by her lawyer as Vellesiya Wiley, was a passenger in the vehicle, which was being driven by her friend. Both women and the child were Black.
In its June 14 report, the MBI said officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver moved towards them and nearly struck one officer. An officer then fired a weapon before the vehicle left the scene. The occupants subsequently reached a local hospital, where Kohen was pronounced dead and another person was reported to have sustained critical injuries.
Wiley has disputed the official account of the incident. In a video posted on social media in June by her lawyer, Ben Crump, she said they had gone to Walmart to buy diapers. She said her friend was briefly stopped as they were leaving the store, but she continued walking because she believed the matter did not concern her.
Wiley said she and her baby got into the car before her friend joined them. As they began reversing, they encountered police officers. She said she lifted her baby to show officers that he was inside the vehicle.
According to Wiley, her friend inadvertently struck another car while Wiley’s door was open.
On Thursday, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety released footage of the shooting captured by body-worn cameras worn by several law enforcement officers.
The videos show two women, one carrying a baby, running across the parking lot and entering a vehicle. Five officers approach the parked car with their guns drawn. The vehicle reverses away and crashes into another parked car as officers shout for it to stop.
The vehicle then accelerates forward as an officer approaches with his gun drawn. The wheels turn away from him, and he appears to place his hands on the hood while jumping out of the way. He fires a shot that shatters the front passenger-side window. The vehicle continues driving away before the footage ends.