Mississippi Officer Who Fatally Shot One-Year-Old Kohen Wiley Resigns, and the Interim Police Chief Steps Down Too

The Mississippi police officer who fired the shot that killed one-year-old Kohen Wiley in a Walmart parking lot in June during an alleged shoplifting pursuit has resigned. Senatobia Mayor Greg Graves confirmed the resignation to ABC News.

The mayor said on Friday afternoon: 'The board of aldermen accepted his resignation Wednesday October 21st.' Asked whether the officer was asked to resign or did so of his own accord, the mayor did not comment. ABC News also reached out to the Senatobia Police Department, but requests for comment were not returned.

The resignation came just after investigators released police body camera footage of the incident. On Monday, the Mississippi Attorney General's Office released the findings of its investigation, concluding that the use of force by the Senatobia Police Department was 'justified' and that no charges will be filed. Following that release, footage of the June 14 incident was made public on Thursday.

The officer, identified in June by local media as Hunter Foster, had initially been placed on administrative leave pending a probe by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI), police said.

Foster's attorney, Martin Zummach, told The Associated Press in comments published on Friday that Foster had 'no choice' but to fire his weapon because the fleeing car was driving towards him. Requests for further comment from Zummach had not been answered.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Kohen's family, said at a press conference on Thursday that the officer's actions were 'excessive'. Crump argued that the driver was attempting to flee — not to hit the officers — and that police could have taken the car's tags to follow up on the shoplifting allegations. The officer did not have to fire his weapon, he said.

'[Kohen] was killed over an allegation of shoplifting of diapers, and even if someone is charged, shoplifting diapers is a misdemeanor,' Crump said on Thursday. 'It doesn't warrant the death penalty. It certainly doesn't warrant the death of 1-year-old baby Kohen.' Crump said the family is calling for a federal investigation.

On Thursday, MBI released body camera footage of the shooting along with surveillance videos from the Senatobia Walmart. In the body camera footage reviewed by ABC News, the officer fired multiple shots at the vehicle as it appeared to drive towards police, who had their guns drawn, in an attempt to flee.

At the time of the shooting, the baby was inside the vehicle along with his mother and a friend who was driving, Crump said. Members of Kohen's family viewed the body camera footage privately on Thursday before its public release later that day.

Veronica Roberson, Kohen's maternal grandmother, said she was 'disgusted' while watching the videos. 'I watched the video this morning that disgusted me,' she said. 'I feel like we have been done wrong. I watched an officer come from the inside of Walmart, not knowing what's going on, and run out with guns drawn. There's no justification for that.'

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves defended the investigation and the police at a press conference on Wednesday, saying that while he had not viewed the body camera video himself, he has 'trust' in the MBI and the state attorney general's office. Calling the death 'absolutely tragic', he urged a focus on praying for the lost life and the people who loved the child. But Reeves added that investigators found it was 'very clear' that 'the driver of the vehicle attempted to run over the policeman'.

The fallout has also reached the department's leadership. Senatobia interim police chief Angelica Maze — who on Tuesday had thanked the public for its patience during the investigation and affirmed respect for everyone's right to express their views peacefully — has also resigned. Mayor Graves confirmed her resignation on Friday, though its reasons and timing are unclear. Graves said Maze was not chief when the shooting took place in June; she resigned as interim chief and returned to her previous position, and LaMorris Hampton will be the new interim police chief. Asked about the attorney general's 'justified' finding, a Senatobia police spokesperson did not comment.