Mississippi officer resigns after fatal shooting of 1-year-old in car outside Walmart during pursuit

Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal/USA Today Network/Imagn

Mississippi police officer Hunter Foster has resigned after shooting into a moving vehicle, resulting in the death of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley , while pursuing two women suspected of shoplifting from a local Walmart earlier this year, Senatobia mayor Greg Graves said.

The incident unfolded June 14 when Senatobia officers and Tate County deputies followed Kohen’s mother and her friend to their car. “Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one,” the Mississippi Department of Public Safety said in a statement at the time.

“Stop the car!” officers yell, body camera footage released by DPS Thursday shows, but the car continues forward appearing to move toward at least one of the officers before Foster, who’s standing in front of the vehicle towards the passenger’s side, shoots into the car.

Foster, a Senatobia Police officer, later told another law enforcement official that he couldn’t see a baby was in the car, different bodycam video shows.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch concluded that the officer’s use of force was justified, she announced this week.

Foster’s attorney, Martin Zummach, told CNN in a statement, “The driver of the vehicle was attempting to kill those 5 officers, and Hunter Foster had no choice but to discharge his weapon. We are very sad for the loss of life. But the outcome of the investigation was not only expected, but it was overdue.”

Mississippi Department of Public Safety

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Kohen’s family criticized the decision at a news conference Thursday.

“This was excessive from the very start,” Crump said. “They came out with guns drawn for a shoplifting misdemeanor.”

“The bullet that killed 1-year-old baby Kohen Wiley was not justified,” he added.

The killing drew national outrage and calls for accountability, becoming the latest in a string of incidents that has eroded trust in police in the small town. Last month, former Senatobia Police Chief Harold Vanderford was fired following reports alleging he used racist slurs in private texts, according to the Associated Press .

Before the shooting around 2 p.m. that Sunday, Kohen’s mother Vellesiya Wiley held him as she and her friend left Walmart and appeared to run to their car, surveillance video released by DPS shows.

Newly-released bodycam and surveillance footage obtained by the Mississippi news outlet Darkhorse Press shows the chaotic moment a Senatobia police officer fired at a moving vehicle resulting in the death of a 1-year-old boy inside the car. The videos obtained by the Mississippi news outlet match videos of the incident previously obtained and verified by CNN.

Officers and deputies ran toward the Walmart parking lot after someone entered a room they were in to alert them that “two girls are running,” two bodycam videos.

A sheriff’s deputy attempted to open the driver’s door of the vehicle Kohen’s mother and her friend ran into, bodycam footage shows.

“Stop!” an officer is heard yelling before the driver reverses out of the parking spot and hits a car parked behind her, video shows. Officers are then heard yelling again, but the car appears to move toward at least one of the officers before Foster shoots into the car, video shows.

Veronica Roberson via AP

Police shooting of a 1-year-old Mississippi boy ignites tension between police and Black residents

The women then drove away from the parking lot, according to the Tate County Sheriff’s Office. Kohen was pronounced dead at a local hospital and one of the women was critically injured, according to the public safety department.

Kohen’s mother has disputed that her friend, who was driving, drove toward the officers, AP reported.

Following an investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, the Attorney General’s office announced it completed its review of the incident on Monday.

“After a thorough investigation, into this matter there is insufficient evidence of any criminal conduct to present this case to a grand jury. We are declining prosecution of this matter and will close this case accordingly,” Attorney General Fitch said in a statement.

CNN has reached out to Kohen’s family for comment. CNN has also reached out to the Senatobia Police Department and the Tate County Sheriff’s Office for additional information.

Police suspected Kohen’s mother and her friend stole diapers and baby clothes, AP reported . But Kohen’s mother has denied she or her friend stole anything, and neither has been charged with shoplifting or other counts, AP reported, citing court records.

Mississippi Attorney General says use of force was justified in death of 1-year-old

“Diapers are something a mother needs for a child. Diapers should never cost a baby their life,” Crump said Thursday. “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.”

Kohen’s grandmother, Veronica Roberson, said she watched the video and feels the officers were not in danger when her grandson was killed.

“The word ‘justified’ has haunted me,” she said at the news conference. “You killed my grandbaby and there’s no justice for that.”

Kohen would have turned 2 on November 1, Crump said. Instead, his family is grieving his death and calling for justice.

“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.”

CNN’s Vivian Phillips contributed to this report.

克里斯·戴/《商业呼吁报》/今日美国网络/Imagn

密西西比州塞纳托比亚市市长格雷格·格雷夫斯表示，今年早些时候，密西西比州警察亨特·福斯特在追捕两名涉嫌在当地沃尔玛超市行窃的女子时，向一辆行驶中的车辆开枪，导致1岁的科恩·威利死亡，福斯特已辞职。

事件发生在6月14日，当时塞纳托比亚市警员和泰特县副警长跟踪科恩的母亲和她的朋友来到她们的车旁。“警员试图拦截车辆，但司机朝警员的方向驶去，险些撞到一名警员，”密西西比州公共安全部当时在一份声明中表示。

周四，德克萨斯州公共安全部公布的执法记录仪视频显示，警员们大喊“停车！”，但汽车继续向前行驶，似乎朝着至少一名警员驶去。随后，站在车前乘客侧的福斯特向车内开枪。

塞纳托比亚警察局警官福斯特后来告诉另一名执法人员，他没有看到车里有婴儿，不同的执法记录仪视频显示了这一点。

密西西比州总检察长林恩·菲奇本周宣布，她已得出结论，认为该警官使用武力是正当的。

福斯特的律师马丁·祖马赫在给CNN的一份声明中表示：“肇事司机试图杀害那5名警官，亨特·福斯特别无选择，只能开枪。我们对生命的逝去深感悲痛。但调查结果不仅在意料之中，而且早就应该如此了。”

密西西比州公共安全部

民权律师本·克伦普和科恩的家人在周四的新闻发布会上批评了这一决定。

“这从一开始就太过分了，”克朗普说。“他们竟然因为一起轻微的商店行窃案就拔枪相向。”

“射杀一岁婴儿科恩·威利的子弹是不合理的，”他补充道。

这起杀戮事件引发了全国范围的愤怒和追究责任的呼声，也成为近期一系列事件中的最新一起，这些事件已经严重削弱了该小镇民众对警方的信任。据美联社报道，上个月，前塞纳托比亚警察局长哈罗德·范德福德因被指控在私人短信中使用种族歧视性语言而被解雇。

周日下午 2 点左右发生枪击事件之前，科恩的母亲维莱西亚·威利抱着他，和她的朋友一起离开沃尔玛，然后似乎跑向她们的车，德克萨斯州公共安全部公布的监控录像显示。

密西西比州新闻媒体Darkhorse Press最新公布的执法记录仪和监控录像显示，塞纳托比亚一名警官向一辆行驶中的车辆开枪，导致车内一名1岁男童死亡。该媒体获得的视频与CNN此前获得并核实的事件视频相符。

有人进入警员所在的房间，告知他们“有两个女孩在跑”，随后警员和副警长们跑向沃尔玛停车场。两段执法记录仪视频显示了这一情况。

执法记录仪视频显示，一名警长副手试图打开科恩的母亲和她的朋友跑进的那辆车的驾驶员侧车门。

视频显示，在司机倒车驶出停车位并撞上停在后面的一辆车之前，可以听到一名警官喊道：“停下！”随后，警官们再次喊叫，但视频显示，这辆车似乎朝着至少一名警官的方向驶去，之后福斯特向车内开枪。

Veronica Roberson via AP

密西西比州一名1岁男童遭警察枪击，引发警察与黑人居民之间的紧张关系。

据泰特县警长办公室称，随后两名女子驾车离开了停车场。公共安全部门表示，科恩在当地医院被宣布死亡，其中一名女子身受重伤。

据美联社报道，科恩的母亲否认了她的朋友（当时正在开车）驾车冲向警官的说法。

经过密西西比州调查局的调查，总检察长办公室于周一宣布完成了对该事件的审查。

“经过彻底调查，我们认为没有足够的证据证明存在任何犯罪行为，因此无法将此案提交大陪审团。我们决定不对此案提起诉讼，并将据此结案。”司法部长菲奇在一份声明中表示。

CNN已联系科恩的家人寻求置评。CNN也已联系塞纳托比亚警察局和泰特县警长办公室以获取更多信息。

据美联社报道，警方怀疑科恩的母亲和她的朋友偷窃了尿布和婴儿服装。但科恩的母亲否认她或她的朋友偷窃任何东西，美联社援引法庭记录报道称，两人均未被指控盗窃或其他罪名。

密西西比州总检察长称，在一名1岁幼儿死亡事件中使用武力是正当的。

“尿布是母亲给孩子需要的物品。尿布绝不应该夺走婴儿的生命，”克伦普周四表示。“这项决定传递出的信息是，一个黑人男婴的生命不如包裹着他的白色尿布值钱。”

科恩的祖母维罗妮卡·罗伯逊表示，她看过视频，觉得在她孙子被杀时，警官们并没有处于危险之中。

“‘正当’这个词一直萦绕在我心头，”她在新闻发布会上说。“你杀害了我的孙子，这根本就谈不上正义。”

克朗普说，科恩本应在11月1日迎来两岁生日。如今，他的家人正沉浸在失去他的悲痛之中，并呼吁伸张正义。

“我们至今仍为一个年仅一岁的小天使以这种方式离我们而去而感到无比悲痛，”克朗普说道。“美国，我们的社会，必须对生命抱有更多的同情心……因为科恩宝宝的生命弥足珍贵。”

CNN记者薇薇安·菲利普斯对本报道亦有贡献。