Police Officer Hunter Foster, Who Killed 1-Year-Old Kohen Wiley Resigns, But Advocates Say Quitting Isn’t Accountability

Senatobia police officer Hunter Foster, who fatally shot 1-year-old Kohen Wiley in a Walmart parking lot in June, has resigned from the force, according to attorneys for the Wiley family.

The Mississippi Department of Public Safety released Foster’s body camera footage. It shows him running out of the store with other officers after a Walmart employee reported that accused shoplifters were fleeing. Within 13 seconds, his gun was aimed at the car carrying Kohen.

Officers can be heard shouting, “Stop the car. Stop. Stop,” then come gunfire, breaking glass and screeching brakes. Foster fired all three shots. They wounded the driver and killed Kohen, who was in his mother’s arms in the front passenger seat.

The state’s investigation found that the driver drove into the officers, and the video supports that finding. Several officers drew their guns, but only Foster fired. The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office ruled the shooting justified.

The family rejects that ruling. Kohen’s grandmother, LaSandra Williams, has seen the video. “I’m having a difficult time understanding the word justified. I just don’t understand,” she said.

Family attorney Ben Crump said, “The bullet that killed Kohen Wiley was not justified. This decision sends a message that a Black baby boy, his life, is not as valuable as the white diapers that he is wrapped in.” At a Thursday news conference, he added, “America, our society must have more empathy for human life.”

Attorney Van Turner said the family will ask the federal government to step in: “We’re going to petition the Department of Justice to open an investigation to make sure that we get justice for this baby.”

On Friday, Crump said Foster’s resignation “is hardly a step toward accountability, and it is certainly not justice.” He added, “A badge cannot simply be turned in to escape responsibility for taking the life of an innocent 1-year-old baby.” He promised to keep pushing for Foster’s “permanent decertification and a federal investigation.”

Kohen’s mother said she held her son up so officers could see a child was in the car. But when Action News 5 slowed down the body camera videos, the two were hard to spot, especially since the situation escalated so quickly.

Link: Action News 5