Mississippi Officer Resigns After Fatal Shooting of Toddler

Hunter Foster has resigned from the Senatobia police department after he shot into a vehicle, resulting in the death of one-year-old Kohen Wiley. The resignation was accepted by the Senatobia board of aldermen on October 21 and took effect immediately. Foster had been placed on leave following the incident on June 14, during which Kohen was shot while in his mother's arms.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced earlier this week that the shooting was deemed "justified." Body-camera and surveillance footage released by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety shows Foster and other officers responding to a report of shoplifters at a Walmart. Allegations suggest that Kohen’s mother and a friend stole diapers, but no charges have been filed against them.

In the footage, Foster is seen exiting the store and firing three shots at the vehicle containing Kohen, his mother, and another woman. The driver was injured, and Kohen was killed. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, representing Kohen’s family, has called for a federal investigation and for Foster to be decertified, asserting that the shooting was unjustified. "The bullet that killed Kohen Wiley was not justified," Crump stated, emphasizing the value of the child's life.