Mississippi police officer Hunter Foster has resigned after shooting into a moving vehicle, resulting in the death of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley , while pursuing two women suspected of shoplifting from a local Walmart earlier this year, Senatobia mayor Greg Graves said.
The incident unfolded June 14 when Senatobia officers and Tate County deputies followed Kohen’s mother and her friend to their car. “Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one,” the Mississippi Department of Public Safety said in a statement at the time.
“Stop the car!” officers yell, body camera footage released by DPS Thursday shows, but the car continues forward appearing to move toward at least one of the officers before Foster, who’s standing in front of the vehicle towards the passenger’s side, shoots into the car.
Foster, a Senatobia Police officer, later told another law enforcement official that he couldn’t see a baby was in the car, different bodycam video shows.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch concluded that the officer’s use of force was justified, she announced this week.
Foster’s attorney, Martin Zummach, told CNN in a statement, “The driver of the vehicle was attempting to kill those 5 officers, and Hunter Foster had no choice but to discharge his weapon. We are very sad for the loss of life. But the outcome of the investigation was not only expected, but it was overdue.”
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Kohen’s family criticized the decision at a news conference Thursday.
“This was excessive from the very start,” Crump said. “They came out with guns drawn for a shoplifting misdemeanor.”
“The bullet that killed 1-year-old baby Kohen Wiley was not justified,” he added.
The killing drew national outrage and calls for accountability, becoming the latest in a string of incidents that has eroded trust in police in the small town. Last month, former Senatobia Police Chief Harold Vanderford was fired following reports alleging he used racist slurs in private texts, according to the Associated Press .
Before the shooting around 2 p.m. that Sunday, Kohen’s mother Vellesiya Wiley held him as she and her friend left Walmart and appeared to run to their car, surveillance video released by DPS shows.
Newly-released bodycam and surveillance footage obtained by the Mississippi news outlet Darkhorse Press shows the chaotic moment a Senatobia police officer fired at a moving vehicle resulting in the death of a 1-year-old boy inside the car. The videos obtained by the Mississippi news outlet match videos of the incident previously obtained and verified by CNN.
Officers and deputies ran toward the Walmart parking lot after someone entered a room they were in to alert them that “two girls are running,” two bodycam videos.
A sheriff’s deputy attempted to open the driver’s door of the vehicle Kohen’s mother and her friend ran into, bodycam footage shows.
“Stop!” an officer is heard yelling before the driver reverses out of the parking spot and hits a car parked behind her, video shows. Officers are then heard yelling again, but the car appears to move toward at least one of the officers before Foster shoots into the car, video shows.
Police shooting of a 1-year-old Mississippi boy ignites tension between police and Black residents
The women then drove away from the parking lot, according to the Tate County Sheriff’s Office. Kohen was pronounced dead at a local hospital and one of the women was critically injured, according to the public safety department.
Kohen’s mother has disputed that her friend, who was driving, drove toward the officers, AP reported.
Following an investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, the Attorney General’s office announced it completed its review of the incident on Monday.
“After a thorough investigation, into this matter there is insufficient evidence of any criminal conduct to present this case to a grand jury. We are declining prosecution of this matter and will close this case accordingly,” Attorney General Fitch said in a statement.
CNN has reached out to Kohen’s family for comment. CNN has also reached out to the Senatobia Police Department and the Tate County Sheriff’s Office for additional information.
Police suspected Kohen’s mother and her friend stole diapers and baby clothes, AP reported . But Kohen’s mother has denied she or her friend stole anything, and neither has been charged with shoplifting or other counts, AP reported, citing court records.
Mississippi Attorney General says use of force was justified in death of 1-year-old
“Diapers are something a mother needs for a child. Diapers should never cost a baby their life,” Crump said Thursday. “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.”
Kohen’s grandmother, Veronica Roberson, said she watched the video and feels the officers were not in danger when her grandson was killed.
“The word ‘justified’ has haunted me,” she said at the news conference. “You killed my grandbaby and there’s no justice for that.”
Kohen would have turned 2 on November 1, Crump said. Instead, his family is grieving his death and calling for justice.
“We still are just troubled in our souls that a 1-year-old little angel was taken from us in such a way as this,” Crump said. “America, our society, must have more empathy for human life…because baby Kohen’s life mattered.”
CNN’s Vivian Phillips contributed to this report.
