The family of Kohen Wiley, a 1-year-old boy killed by police in Senatobia, Mississippi, disputed the state’s justification of the shooting after reviewing body camera footage. Sergeant Hunter Foster shot and killed the toddler in June at a Walmart parking lot while pursuing two women accused of shoplifting. The state attorney general’s office cleared Foster of criminal wrongdoing, declaring the use of force justified.
Reviewing Body Camera Footage of the Senatobia Walmart Shooting
Kohen’s relatives gathered to watch recordings from the June incident in Senatobia, located about 40 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. Veronica Roberson, Kohen’s maternal grandmother, stated during a press conference that the official characterization of the shooting haunts her family. “There is no justification for that,” Roberson said.
Roberson learned the state cleared the officer through news reports and watched portions of the video leak online. She called the lack of direct notification from the attorney general’s office a slap in the face to her family. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, representing the family, argued that the officers acted recklessly by rushing a moving vehicle with drawn weapons.
Disputing the Danger Posed by the Vehicle
Martin Zummach, an attorney representing Sergeant Foster, argued that the footage exonerates his client. Zummach stated that the vehicle moved directly toward Foster and another officer, leaving the sergeant no choice but to fire. “She went directly towards Hunter Foster and the other officer, and he had to shoot his weapon,” Zummach declared.
Conversely, Crump maintained that the fatal shot originated from the side of the automobile, contradicting claims that Foster faced imminent danger. An independent autopsy commissioned by the family supports this finding, showing a shattered front passenger-side window where Kohen sat on his mother’s lap. Vellesiya Wiley, Kohen’s mother, previously denied that she and her companion stole diapers from the store, and court records show neither woman has faced shoplifting charges.
Vellesiya Wiley shares her account of the events that led to the tragic death of her 1-year-old son, Kohen Wiley, during a police encounter in Senatobia, Mississippi. The officer who fatally shot Kohen has been placed on administrative leave, but for Kohen’s family, leave is not… pic.twitter.com/f8EK4WTCL7
“Diapers are something a mother needs for a child. Diapers should never cost a baby his life,” Crump said.
Contradictory Expert Assessments on Police Use of Force
The video sequence shows Vellesiya Wiley holding Kohen while running to a vehicle with her companion. Five officers approach with drawn weapons before the car reverses, strikes a nearby parked vehicle, and accelerates forward as Foster steps directly in front of it with his weapon drawn. Foster appears to place his hands on the hood and leaps aside as he fires through the front passenger window.
Two use-of-force experts reviewed the footage with conflicting conclusions. Charles “Joe” Key, a former Baltimore police lieutenant, described the shooting as a split-second decision made while the vehicle moved toward officers. “The officer that fired narrowly missed being run over and appeared to touch the car as it moved,” Key noted, concluding the shooting was objectively justified.
However, John P. Gross criticized the tactics employed by the department. Gross argued that officers should never place themselves in a position to be struck by a vehicle and asserted that a shoplifting accusation does not warrant lethal force against a fleeing suspect.
Kohen Wiley was a 1-year-old child. A baby who should have had his whole life ahead of him is now gone, and a family is living every parent's worst nightmare. We cannot accept a world where an alleged shoplifting call ends with a child dead! We've been retained by Kohen's family,… pic.twitter.com/sWySDiGpdt
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