JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Officials in Mississippi released video footage of a police shooting that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley in a Walmart parking lot in June. The officer involved has now resigned. Else Catrion Gregg of the Gulf States Newsroom in Mississippi Public Broadcasting has been following the story and is with us now. Hi there.
ELISE CATRION GREGG, BYLINE: Hi there.
SUMMERS: Elise, what are the latest developments here?
GREGG: Well, the latest is that the officer involved in the shooting, former Sergeant Hunter Foster, has resigned from the Senatobia Police Department. And that actually comes as a bit of a surprise because earlier this week, the attorney general's office put him in the clear, saying that the use of force was justified when he and other officers responded to a shoplifting call. That was when 22-year-old Latoya Farrell was in the car with 20-year-old Vellesiya Wiley and Wiley's 1-year-old son, Kohen. The two had allegedly stolen diapers and baby clothes.
Foster's attorney said Farrell, the driver of the vehicle, was attempting to kill officers and that Foster had to discharge his weapon. He said they're saddened by the loss of life. But Van Turner, a civil rights attorney from Memphis, is representing the family of Kohen, and he says shots were absolutely not necessary.
VAN TURNER: Obviously it backed up, then it started coming forward. At that particular time, the officers descended upon the car and created a human barrier, which was a tactical error. Walmart policy says, once an individual crosses the threshold, you leave them alone. You take the footage from video cameras, you get the car tags, and you follow up with them later because it's a simple misdemeanor. It's not a felony.
GREGG: Essentially, he says that officers shouldn't have even put themselves in harm's way to begin with.
SUMMERS: And I know, Elise, that you have seen this body cam footage. Could you just walk us through what you saw?
GREGG: Sure. It started with a shoplifting call at the Walmart in Senatobia, a city in north Mississippi. The body camera footage shows police already inside the Walmart when they were alerted by a store employee. They ran out to the parking lot where the two women and Wiley's 1-year-old son were getting in the car. The video shows Farrell and Wiley were in the car before police even reached them and that when they began to drive away, police surrounded the car. You know, the car moves forward toward officers and appears to turn left. You know, officers step to the side. That's when Foster fires directly into the passenger side window where Wiley had Kohen in her arms.
SUMMERS: And how have officials reacted to this video since it's come out?
GREGG: So the Attorney General Lynn Fitch hasn't provided much explanation as to how her office determined that the use of force was justified and how the video played into that. But the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus has been following this case and condemned the AG's findings when they were released. The Caucus' chairman, Representative Kabir Karriem, says they're gathering current and former law enforcement officers to review the footage.
KABIR KARRIEM: We're going to convene our meeting with law enforcement individuals, continue to look at the tape and do a deep dive. And hopefully, there's possibly some legislation that could be introduced to prevent another Kohen Wiley being shot and killed.
GREGG: Now, the Caucus is also demanding transparency from the AG's office and more information on what factors went into determining that the shooting itself was justified.
SUMMERS: I mean, obviously, this is just heartbreaking. Elise, what comes next?
GREGG: Yeah. You know, today, the attorney for Foster, the former police officer, says there could be a grand jury called to determine whether charges should be filed against the driver of the car. Meanwhile, the Wiley family's attorney says they're asking the Department of Justice to get involved and says that they plan to file a civil suit as well.
SUMMERS: Else Catrion Gregg with Mississippi Public Broadcasting and the Gulf States Newsroom, thank you.
GREGG: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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