Bodycam: Cop Was Not in Danger When He Fired Shots That Killed 1-Year-Old Kohen Wiley

On October 22, 2026, video footage released by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety provided a detailed account of the fatal shooting of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley. The footage, obtained through a public records request, included body camera footage of Sgt. Hunter Foster, the officer who fired the shots.

The incident began when Walmart security called the police after reporting two individuals running from the store, suspected of shoplifting. Kohen Wiley and his mother, Vel’lesiya Wiley, were among the suspects. As the officers pursued the vehicle, Foster positioned himself in front of the car, aiming his gun at the passenger side window. Despite the car moving away from him, Foster fired three shots, killing Kohen Wiley.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell determined that the fatal bullet most likely entered Kohen's body on his right side and exited on his left, through the side window. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation's report, which the state attorney general relied upon to clear the officers, did not fully explain Foster's position when he fired the shots.

The report described the incident as an officer "discharging his firearm" after the car "sped toward the officers," omitting the fact that Foster was positioned in front of the vehicle.

Kohen's maternal grandmother, Veronica Roberson, expressed her disappointment with the release of the footage, stating that the word "justified" was haunting her all week. She questioned how Foster could have felt threatened when he fired the shots from the side of the car. The family had been calling for the release of the footage for months, and they felt the release came too late.