Senatobia police Sgt. Hunter Foster has resigned after a June shooting killed one-year-old Kohen Wiley, as Mississippi officials concluded the force was justified and the child’s family pressed for a federal investigation.
Mayor Greg Graves confirmed Foster’s resignation to The Associated Press on Friday, Oct. 23. Foster fired into a vehicle at a Walmart on June 14 in Senatobia, Mississippi, which the Associated Press places about 65 kilometers (40 miles) south of Memphis. Wiley’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, and Latoya Ferrell were in the vehicle; the Associated Press reported Ferrell was wounded.
Reports gave different descriptions of why officers were at the store. An Oct. 19 Associated Press report said they were responding to a shoplifting call. In an Oct. 23 report, the Associated Press said officers were already at Walmart for an unrelated matter when an employee alerted them that two women were running from the store. Neither woman has been charged in connection with the alleged theft, and Vellesiya Wiley has denied the allegation, the Associated Press reported.
On Oct. 19, the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office said a review following an investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation found the force justified. The office’s statement identified the investigation but did not detail evidence or explain its reasoning. Video from several officers’ cameras, including Foster’s body camera, became public Oct. 22, the Associated Press reported. The bureau’s public account said the vehicle moved toward officers and nearly hit one; the Associated Press’s review of the footage found that the car turned away as Foster moved to avoid it.
Ben Crump, a lawyer for the family, called for a federal investigation and Foster’s decertification. He described the resignation as “hardly a step toward accountability.” A Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesperson told the Associated Press on Oct. 23 that Foster remained certified as an officer.
