Senatobia sergeant who shot 1-year-old Kohen Wiley resigns

The Senatobia police sergeant who fatally shot 1-year-old Kohen Wiley has resigned, SuperTalk Mississippi reported.

SuperTalk Mississippi said WREG was the first to report Sgt. Hunter Foster’s resignation early Friday morning. Foster had been placed on administrative leave after the June 14 incident at the local Walmart.

The report said the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office ruled that Foster’s use of force was justified. Foster’s resignation came the day after the Mississippi Department of Public Safety released body-camera and other footage from the shooting, SuperTalk Mississippi reported.

SuperTalk Mississippi said a Senatobia alderman confirmed to a Memphis-based television station that interim Police Chief Angelica Maze will also resign and return to her previous rank of lieutenant. Maze had been appointed after former Chief Harold Vanderford was fired amid allegations he sent racially charged messages containing slurs, the report said.

According to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, as reported by SuperTalk Mississippi, officers responded to a shoplifting call at the retailer. Responding Senatobia officers encountered two women and a child quickly leaving the store and entering a vehicle. Police said they attempted to stop the vehicle, that the driver drove in the direction of officers and almost struck one, and that an officer later identified as Foster fired a squad-issued firearm as the vehicle fled. The shot struck Kohen Wiley, who later died at an area hospital, the report said.

Protests formed in Senatobia after Wiley’s death, the SuperTalk Mississippi report said. Wiley’s family disputed the police account and hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump. At a news conference, Crump said he disagrees with the attorney general’s ruling, saying a misdemeanor shoplifting accusation “doesn’t warrant the death penalty.”

Source: SuperTalk Mississippi