Bodycam footage released of police shooting that killed one-year-old in Mississippi Walmart car park
Mississippi authorities have released bodycam footage of a police shooting that fatally wounded a one-year-old boy in a Walmart car park. The state's attorney general ruled the use of force justified.
Infant killed as officers respond to shoplifting call in Senatobia
Mississippi authorities have released body camera footage showing the moments before a police officer fatally shot a one-year-old boy in a Walmart car park, bbc.co.uk reports.
Kohen Wiley was sitting on his mother's lap in a moving vehicle when five law enforcement officers surrounded the car in Senatobia on 14 June, responding to a report of shoplifting.
The footage, released on Thursday, shows a first-person view from the officer who opened fire. After a staff member alerts officers that suspected shoplifters are leaving, the officers run towards the car with guns drawn. The vehicle reverses into a parked car, then pulls forwards. The officer raises his weapon, shouts "Stop!", and fires as the car passes him closely, shattering the passenger-side window. Four shots are audible in total as the car continues slowly through the car park.
CCTV footage from the storefront appears to show another officer standing near the front of the vehicle at the moment the shots were fired.
Mississippi's attorney general found the officer was justified in his use of force. Martin Zummach, the attorney representing the officer, told the BBC that "the driver of the vehicle was attempting to kill those 5 officers" and that his client "had no choice but to discharge his weapon". Zummach added: "We are very sad for the loss of life. But the outcome of the investigation was not only expected, but it was overdue."
The officer who fired, Hunter Foster, has since resigned. Senatobia Mayor Greg Graves confirmed this to the BBC's US partner CBS. The Senatobia Police Department did not immediately respond to the BBC's requests for comment.
The child's family disputes the justification for the shooting. Their lawyer, Ben Crump, described the police response as "excessive from the very start" and said an allegation of shoplifting "does not warrant the death" of a child.
Kohen's mother, Vellesiya Wiley, has denied that she and the other woman in the vehicle stole nappies from the store. No charges have been filed against either of them.
The boy's death has prompted protests and vigils across Mississippi. At a press conference, relatives demanded accountability. "After what I've seen today, I'm having a difficult time understanding the word, 'justified'," said LaSandra Williams, Kohen's grandmother.
Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)