Mississippi Police Officer Resigns After Fatal Shooting of 1-Year-Old Boy

The Mississippi police officer who fatally shot a 1-year-old boy while responding to a shoplifting call has resigned from his position, according to local officials. Senatobia Mayor Greg Graves confirmed Friday that Sgt. Hunter Foster stepped down from the police department following a monthslong state investigation.

The announcement came a day after the Mississippi Department of Public Safety released bodycam footage from the June 14 encounter. The incident took place in a Walmart parking lot in Senatobia, located roughly 40 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. Officers had initially arrived at the store for an unrelated matter when an employee alerted them to two women running from the building.

Video footage shows the toddler's mother, Vellesiya Wiley, holding 1-year-old Kohen Wiley as she and a friend ran to their vehicle. Five officers approached the parked car with their weapons drawn. The vehicle reversed, struck a nearby parked car, and then accelerated forward. Foster stepped directly in front of the moving car with his gun drawn, jumped aside, and fired into the front passenger-side window where Kohen was sitting on his mother's lap.

Earlier in the week, the Mississippi Attorney General's office concluded a months-long probe and found that Foster's use of force was justified. Foster's defense attorney, Martin Zummach, argued that his client had no choice but to fire because the vehicle was moving toward him and threatening his safety. Zummach stated that additional shots were fired purely out of muscle memory as the car sped past.

However, attorneys representing Kohen's family sharply disputed the official findings. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and co-counsel Van Turner argued that the footage and an independent autopsy demonstrate the fatal shot came from the side of the vehicle, proving the officer was not in imminent danger. The family's legal team has called on the federal government to launch an investigation and demanded that Foster be decertified so he cannot work in law enforcement elsewhere.

Kohen's relatives expressed profound grief and frustration over the handling of the case. During a news conference, the toddler's grandmother, Veronica Roberson, criticized state officials for clearing the officer and noted that finding out through the news felt like a slap in the face. Vellesiya Wiley has denied that she and her friend stole merchandise, and court records show neither woman has faced criminal charges regarding the alleged shoplifting incident.

As the community processes the fallout from the tragedy, the release of the multi-angle footage has intensified national discussions regarding police accountability, use-of-force policies, and the safety of bystanders during law enforcement operations.