A Mississippi police officer has resigned days after the state’s attorney general ruled that his use of force was justified in a shooting that killed a 1-year-old boy in June.
What police said
As per AP, police believed the women had stolen diapers and baby clothes. Kohen’s mother has denied this. As per court records, reports that neither woman has been charged with shoplifting or any other counts. We are very sad for the loss of life. But the outcome of the investigation was not only expected, but it was overdue.
Hunter Foster, a Senatobia police officer, resigned on Friday, October 23. The shooting of Kohen Wiley on June 14 sparked widespread outrage and calls for accountability. Foster’s attorney, Martin Zummach: “The driver of the vehicle was attempting to kill those 5 officers, and Hunter Foster had no choice but to discharge his weapon.
Two bodycam videos show that officers and deputies ran toward the parking lot after someone came into a room they were in and said “two girls are running, according to CNN. A DPS statement at the time said: “Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one,” as per CNN. Different bodycam video shows Foster later told another law enforcement official he couldn’t see a baby was in the car. Kohen’s mother has disputed that her friend, who was driving, drove toward the officers, according to AP.
Family and lawyer push back
Surveillance video released by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (DPS) shows them appearing to run to their car. Senatobia Police officer Hunter Foster has resigned. Officers had gone to a Walmart after a shoplifting call. Kohen Wiley’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, was holding him as she and her friend left the store. Bodycam footage shows a sheriff’s deputy trying to open the driver’s door of the car. The car hit another car parked behind it. Officers yelled again. The video shows the car appeared to move toward at least one officer. Then Foster shot into the car. “They came out with guns drawn for a shoplifting misdemeanor. “Diapers are something a mother needs for a child. “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. This goes against the officers’ claim that the car was heading toward them. “You killed my grandbaby and there’s no justice for that.
The shooting happened on June 14 in Senatobia, a small town about 40 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee .
City clerk Katie Harbin said Foster turned in a resignation letter. This comes just days after Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said the officer’s use of force was justified. It was around 2pm local time on a Sunday, according to CNN. An officer yelled “Stop!” and the driver reversed out of the parking spot. “This was excessive from the very start,” Crump said. “The bullet that killed 1-year-old baby Kohen Wiley was not justified,” he added. Diapers should never cost a baby their life,” Crump said Thursday. As per AP, Crump has said a preliminary independent autopsy shows Kohen was shot from the side of the car, not the front. Kohen’s grandmother, Veronica Roberson, said she watched the video and feels the officers were not in danger. “The word ‘justified’ has haunted me,” she said at the news conference. “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,”
Senatobia mayor Greg Graves told CNN about it on Friday. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Kohen’s family criticized the decision at a news conference on Thursday, according to CNN.
Attorney General closes the case
The Attorney General’s office announced on Monday that it had finished its review. As per the Tate County Sheriff’s Office, the women then drove away from the parking lot. One of the women was critically injured. As per CNN, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation looked into the case. “After a thorough investigation, into this matter there is insufficient evidence of any criminal conduct to present this case to a grand jury.
Kohen was pronounced dead at a local hospital, according to DPS. We are declining prosecution of this matter and will close this case accordingly,” Fitch said in a statement.
