Key Takeaways
- Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch cleared Officer Hunter Foster, ruling that his fatal shooting of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley during an alleged diaper-theft stop was “justified.”
- Police say the driver nearly struck an officer while fleeing, but Kohen’s family says his mother showed officers the baby before Foster fired into the vehicle, killing Kohen and critically wounding Latoya Ferrell.
- Neither woman faces charges, and attorney Ben Crump is demanding the release of body-camera and surveillance footage as an independent autopsy raises questions about the police account.
Mississippi's attorney general has cleared the police officer who shot and killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley during a response to an alleged diaper theft at Walmart, declaring the use of deadly force "justified" despite the public never seeing the footage of the shooting. Four months after the baby was killed while sitting in his mother's lap, neither woman involved in the incident has been charged with a crime.
Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced the decision Monday, October 19, following an investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation into the June 14 shooting in Senatobia. Her office concluded that the officer's actions were legally justified, effectively ending the state's review of a shooting that left a toddler dead, another woman critically wounded, and an entire community demanding accountability.
"In this incident, the Attorney General's Office found the use of force was justified," Fitch's office said in a statement.
The announcement didn’t include the footage showing exactly what happened.
According to the Mississippi Free Press, neither police body-camera recordings nor surveillance footage from the Walmart parking lot had been publicly released when Fitch announced her decision. A cellphone video circulated shortly after the shooting, but it doesn't capture the gunfire or show the vehicle allegedly threatening officers.
The Mississippi Department of Public Safety has said it will release the footage through public records requests.
The shooting began with a shoplifting complaint involving Kohen's mother, Vellesiya Wiley, and Latoya Ferrell, who were accused of stealing a pack of diapers. Officers confronted the women as they were leaving the store with the child.
Police claim the driver attempted to flee and drove toward officers, nearly striking one. Officer Hunter Foster then fired into the vehicle, killing Kohen and wounding Ferrell.
But the family's account raises a devastating question about what officers knew before they opened fire.
Vellesiya Wiley reportedly lifted her son to show officers that a baby was inside the vehicle. Kohen was sitting in her lap when he was shot.
Authorities have not charged either Wiley or Ferrell, and they have not publicly produced evidence that either woman stole anything.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Kohen's family alongside Van Turner, previously challenged the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
"Kohen Wiley was a baby," Crump said. "His mother, who has not been charged with any crime, says she was trying to communicate to officers that there was a baby in the car."
"They fired anyway, leading to the death of an innocent 1-year-old," he continued.
The case has also exposed troubling allegations involving the officer and the police department responsible for the shooting.
In July, Mississippi Today reported that Foster had been accused of making a racially offensive remark to a coworker just days before Kohen was killed. Court records also revealed two previous allegations of police misconduct involving Foster. One case was dismissed; the other ended in a confidential settlement.
Then came another revelation.
In September, Senatobia fired Police Chief Harold Vanderford after investigative reports uncovered racist text messages in which he repeatedly used racial slurs.
Kohen, his mother, and Ferrell are Black. Foster is white.
Those revelations unfolded as protesters continued demanding answers about why officers fired into a vehicle carrying a baby. Demonstrations drew crowds to Senatobia City Hall and the Walmart where Kohen was killed. During one protest, law enforcement deployed tear gas against demonstrators.
The attorney general’s announcement has done little to quiet those demanding accountability.
"There is blood on your hands. Not just Hunter Foster, but everyone that is complicit in the cover-up, including Attorney General Lynn Fitch, and everything that happens as a result," Marquell Bridges, president of the Building Bridges Coalition, told the Mississippi Free Press.
Meanwhile, Crump said a preliminary independent autopsy indicated Kohen was shot from the side of the vehicle, raising questions about the police account that the car was heading toward officers.
"If the footage supports the state's decision, release it," Crump said. "We will not stop fighting until this family gets the truth."
