Senatobia Police Officer Hunter Foster has resigned following the release of his bodycam footage depicting the moments he fired the shots that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley on June 14. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety released the footage on Oct. 22, only days after bodycam footage from other officers at the scene was leaked.
Senatobia Mayor Greg Graves confirmed Foster’s resignation to CNN on Friday.
It was on that June day that Senatobia law enforcement claimed to have arrived at the town’s Walmart over an alleged shoplifting call.
But both the bodycam footage and the report reveal that shoplifting was not the reason for the police presence that day.
“On Sunday, June 14, 2026, Tate County Sheriff’s Office deputies … (and) Senatobia Police Department officers … were on a call at Walmart Shopping Center, located at 5219 Highway 51 North, Senatobia, Mississippi, pertaining to an unknown male that was attempting to sexually harass customers.”
Warning: graphic footage
It was while examining surveillance footage from inside the store that a Walmart employee sprinted into the security room, warning those present that “the two girls are running.” What happened next took only a matter of seconds: The officers present sprinted out of the front of the store, fanning out to surround the car being driven by Latoya Ferrell, with Vellesiya Wiley and her son Kohen in the passenger’s seat.
Multiple officers drew their firearms, screaming for the car to stop as Ferrell backed up, colliding with another vehicle. As she drove forward, Foster took a step in to place a hand on her hood, but sidestepped, discharging his weapon into her windshield and side window as she passed.
Ben Crump, the attorney representing Wiley’s family, spoke with the press after meeting with DPS on the morning of Oct. 22. DPS presented the video evidence to the family before releasing it via public records request to the press. After entering the press conference with a group chanting “Baby Kohen’s Life Mattered,” Crump criticized the officer’s conduct.
“After reviewing that footage, we have made these observations: that this was excessive from the very start,” he said. “I mean, they came out with guns drawn for a shoplifting misdemeanor? I mean guns drawn. You will see the videos for yourself. The officers came out as if they were responding to a bank robbery or a hostage situation.”
“Firing into a car in a busy Walmart parking lot is reckless. It’s a miracle no one else was hit,” Crump said.
On Oct. 19, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced her determination that the shooting “was justified.”
In July, Mississippi Today reported multiple instances of allegations of police misconduct against Foster, including accusations of making a racist comment to a coworker days before Wiley’s shooting. In two cases at his previous jobs in law enforcement, Foster was named in lawsuits alleging abuses against suspects. One of those cases was dismissed; the other concluded with a confidential settlement.
Just under two months ago, after reports from The New York Times, Mississippi Today and Verite included racist text messages from former Senatobia Police Chief Hal Vanderford. Vanderford tendered his resignation after the revelations, but the Senatobia Board of Alderman fired him instead.
Follow the Mississippi Free Press’ coverage of Kohen Wiley and read past stories here.
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