A Mississippi police officer who fired the shot that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley has resigned, according to NBC News, days after the state attorney general’s office called the use of force justified. The resignation is the latest development in the Kohen Wiley shooting in Senatobia, a small town about 40 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee.
Hunter Foster, who worked for the Senatobia Police Department, turned in his badge and gun a few days after the attorney general’s office described the fatal shooting as a "justified" use of force, according to NBC News. A city official told the outlet that the resignation had occurred.
Senatobia’s human resources clerk, Jada Mayer, confirmed the resignation on Friday, according to NBC News. She did not say why Foster left, and said, "the mayor’s office confirmed the resignation."
Foster’s lawyer, Martin Zummach, said Foster "resigned for the good of the city and the police department and to permit the process of healing," according to NBC News.
Kohen was shot on June 14 after officers responded to a reported shoplifting at a local Walmart, according to NBC News. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said the driver of the vehicle "drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one," and an officer then discharged a weapon.
On Thursday, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety released body-worn camera video showing officers approaching a parked car with guns drawn, according to NBC News. The footage shows an officer firing as the car accelerated toward him.
The accounts differ on key points. The MBI said police were responding to the shoplifting report. Zummach said Foster was part of a team investigating an unrelated case involving an adult who attempted to sexually assault a minor on the store’s property, and that Foster "emphatically denies knowing a child was in the car or in the front seat." Kohen’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, disputes the MBI’s account and said she "raised my baby up trying to show them that he was in the car."
NBC News reported that Black residents of Senatobia have long complained about police harassment, and that the shooting caused an uproar in the town. Kohen, his mother and her friend, who was driving the car, are all Black. Wiley’s lawyer, Ben Crump, posted her account on social media in June.
The reporting on Foster’s resignation comes from NBC News alone, and no independent second source has confirmed the resignation or the competing accounts. The city has not explained why Foster left, and the sources do not include a response from the MBI to Zummach’s account or to the mother’s account. It is also unclear whether the attorney general’s review is continuing or whether any charges were considered.
The sources do not describe further investigation, charges or hearings. The latest developments reported are Zummach’s statement and the released video.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.