Mississippi officer and interim police chief resign after officer’s fatal shooting of 1-year-old in car during pursuit

By Ryan Young, Caroll Alvarado, Dalia Faheid, CNN

(CNN) — A Mississippi police officer and interim police chief have resigned, officials said Friday — just days after the state said the officer’s actions were justified in a June shooting that resulted in the death of a 1-year-old boy and led to widespread outrage.

The incident unfolded June 14 when Senatobia officers and Tate County deputies followed Kohen Wiley’s mother and her friend to their car while responding to a shoplifting call at a Walmart store. “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. The car continues forward, appearing to move toward at least one of the officers before Hunter Foster, who’s standing in front of the vehicle toward the passenger’s side, shoots into the car.

Foster, a Senatobia Police officer, later told another law enforcement official he could not see a baby in the car, different bodycam video shows.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch concluded the officer’s use of force was justified, she announced Monday. On Friday, Senatobia mayor Greg Graves told CNN Foster has resigned. Foster turned in a resignation letter, Senatobia City Clerk Katie Harbin said.

The killing drew national outrage and calls for accountability, becoming the latest in a string of incidents that have 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. Interim police chief Angelica Maze resigned but is staying with the department in a different capacity, Harbin said Friday.

Foster’s attorney, Martin Zummach, on Thursday said he would not comment on Foster’s employment, adding “his exoneration by the Attorney General was expected and overdue.”

“The driver of the vehicle was attempting to kill those 5 officers, and Hunter Foster had no choice but to discharge his weapon,” Zummach told CNN in a statement. “We are very sad for the loss of life.”

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Wiley family, said he will continue calling for answers and accountability despite the officer’s resignation.

“A badge cannot simply be turned in to escape responsibility for taking the life of an innocent 1-year-old baby,” Crump said in a statement Friday. “Kohen Wiley is never coming home to his mother, and no resignation can undo the devastating consequences of that officer’s actions.”

Videos show moments before shooting

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.

Officers and deputies ran toward the Walmart parking lot after someone entered a room they were in to alert them “two girls are running,” two bodycam videos show.

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.

The women then drove away from the parking lot, according to the Tate County Sheriff’s Office. Kohen was pronounced dead at a 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, the AP reported.

Following an investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, the Attorney General’s office announced it had 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 the case accordingly,” Attorney General Fitch said in a statement.

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.

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.

‘Diapers should never cost a baby their life’

Police suspected Kohen’s mother and her friend stole diapers and baby clothes, the AP reported. But Kohen’s mother has denied she or her friend stole anything, and neither has been charged with shoplifting or other counts, the AP reported, citing court records.

“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.”

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CNN’s Rebekah Reiss and Vivian Phillips contributed to this report.