The Senatobia police officer who fatally shot 1-year-old Kohen Wiley has resigned.
WREG was the first to report Sgt. Hunter Foster’s resignation early Friday morning. Foster was placed on administrative leave after the June 14 incident at the local Walmart led to Wiley’s death.
Earlier in the week, the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office ruled that Foster’s use of force was justified. Foster’s resignation comes one day after the Mississippi Department of Public Safety released body cam and other footage from the shooting.
Additionally, a Senatobia alderman confirmed to the Memphis-based TV station that interim police chief Angelica Maze will also resign, opting to return to her position as lieutenant in the department. Maze was appointed after previous police chief Harold Vanderford was fired after he allegedly sent racial messages containing slurs.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation found in its assessment that officers responded to a shoplifting call at the retailer. Upon arrival, responding Senatobia police officers encountered two women and a child quickly leaving the store and hopping into a vehicle.
Police said they attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one. An officer, later identified by records as Foster, then discharged a squad-issued firearm as the vehicle fled the scene. The shot reportedly struck Wiley, who later died at an area hospital.
Protests formed in Senatobia after Wiley’s death, with protesters arguing that the use of force was unnecessary and that race played a role in the officer’s decision to shoot into the vehicle.
Wiley’s family, who disputed the police’s account of the shooting, hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who notably represents the family of Nolan Wells. On Thursday, Crump said in a news conference that he disagrees with the attorney general’s ruling, saying that a misdemeanor shoplifting accusation “doesn’t warrant the death penalty.”