State authorities in Mississippi have announced that no criminal charges will be filed against the white police officer who shot and killed a 1-year-old child in Senatobia earlier this year. Republican Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch released a brief three-sentence statement declaring that the use of force by Senatobia Police Sgt. Hunter Foster was justified. The decision concluded a months-long probe conducted by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation into the June 14 incident, which took place outside a local Walmart.
The announcement brought immediate anguish and outrage from community members, civil rights advocates, and lawmakers. State Rep. Kabir Karriem, who chairs the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus, criticized the outcome, stating that the toddler, Kohen Wiley, posed no threat and deserved protection. He argued that announcing the completion of a review falls short of explaining how a police encounter resulted in a dead child.
The investigation’s credibility faced immediate questions following the attorney general’s announcement. According to family members, state authorities had not communicated the decision directly to them. Kohen’s grandmother, Veronica Roberson, stated that she learned of the outcome on Facebook, noting that no one from the state had reached out. Furthermore, reports surfaced indicating that investigators had not interviewed Kohen’s mother, Vel’lesiya Wiley, who was holding the toddler in her lap when the shots were fired.
The shooting occurred after police responded to a shoplifting call at the Walmart. According to a two-legged incident log, the items allegedly involved were baby clothes and a pack of Pampers. Vel’lesiya Wiley stated in a social media video that she entered the passenger’s seat of a Ford Fusion driven by Latoya Ferrell as they attempted to leave. When officers approached with drawn weapons, Wiley said she raised her baby to signal his presence before shots were fired. Ferrell was struck, hospitalized, and survived.
Police officials claimed the vehicle drove toward officers and nearly struck them, an account initially echoed by state investigators. However, officials have not publicly released video evidence to substantiate the claim. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump retained an outside pathologist who conducted an external examination, concluding that the bullet’s trajectory indicated the officer fired from the side of the car, which challenges the official narrative.
The case has intensified longstanding local tensions regarding the Senatobia Police Department. Activists and residents have pointed to a history of aggressive policing under former Police Chief Richard Chandler, whose tenure included the jailing of a 10-year-old boy for public urination and the rough handling of local minors. Although Chandler was dismissed in the summer of 2025, community members reported that the institutional culture remained unchanged. Subsequent controversies also enveloped interim leadership, after racist text messages attributed to replacement chief Harold Vanderford led to his firing in September. Vanderford was succeeded by Lt. Angelica Maze, who became the department’s interim chief and expressed condolences to the grieving family.
State public safety officials indicated that body camera footage and related investigative materials would soon be made available through public records requests, following meetings with the toddler’s family. Meanwhile, local advocacy groups continue to press for transparency as the community processes the attorney general’s decision.
