Mississippi Releases Bodycam Footage in Fatal Police Shooting of 1-Year-Old Boy

By Gaurav Sen

SENATOBIA, Miss. — State authorities in Mississippi have released bodycam footage depicting the fatal police shooting of a 1-year-old boy, an incident that has ignited intense scrutiny over law enforcement use of force and sparked sharp opposition from the victim's family and legal counsel.

Kohen Wiley was killed in June when Senatobia Police Department officer Sgt. Hunter Foster discharged his firearm into a moving vehicle during a reported shoplifting incident in a Walmart parking lot. While the Mississippi Attorney General's office concluded a monthlong investigation this week by clearing Foster of criminal wrongdoing, the newly released footage has reignited a fierce debate over accountability and justification.

The Encounter and Footage Analysis

The incident unfolded on June 14 in Senatobia, located approximately 40 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. Surveillance and body-worn camera footage show Kohen's mother, Vellesiya Wiley, holding the toddler as she and a companion return to their vehicle after being approached by multiple law enforcement officers with drawn weapons.

As the car reverses and strikes a nearby parked vehicle, officers can be heard shouting for the driver to halt. The vehicle then accelerates forward. Video shows Officer Foster stepping directly in front of the moving car with his weapon drawn. As the wheels turn away from him and he appears to jump aside, Foster fires a single shot through the front passenger-side window where young Kohen sat on his mother's lap. The vehicle continues out of the frame.

Conflicting Legal Positions

The Mississippi Department of Public Safety released the multi-angle bodycam footage following days of public tension, which included partial leaks of the video via local media outlets. Family representatives expressed profound frustration over learning of the state's decision to clear the officer through news reports rather than direct official communication.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, representing the Wiley family, strongly condemned the operation, calling the officers' approach excessive and reckless. According to Crump, the footage demonstrates that Foster was positioned near the passenger side and faced no imminent threat to his life when he fired the fatal shot.

Conversely, defense attorney Martin Zummach maintained that his client acted out of necessity, asserting that Foster had "no choice" but to discharge his weapon as the vehicle moved toward him.

Vellesiya Wiley has previously denied allegations of shoplifting, and court records indicate neither she nor her companion have faced formal criminal charges in connection with the initial store call. The family continues to demand broader accountability as the community grapples with the tragedy.