Amid ongoing scrutiny over the fatal shooting of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley, the Senatobia Police Department has a new interim chief, the Mississippi city's mayor confirmed to The Commercial Appeal.
Mayor Greg Graves said interim Chief Angelica Maze, who took the job in September after the previous chief was fired during a scandal over racist text messages, left the interim post on Oct. 25. She will stay with the department, Graves added, saying she will go back to her lieutenant position.
Maze's resignation followed that of now-former Officer Hunter Foster, the officer who shot Wiley. Foster's resignation was accepted by the board of aldermen on Oct. 21.
Officer LaMorris Hampton will replace Maze as interim chief, Graves said, while the city starts
the process for a full-time chief.
Graves said the City of Senatobia has already started advertising the open position and "should begin interviews soon." He said the city would like to "have a new chief in place by December or January at the latest."
What happened to Kohen Wiley?
Maze's resignation from the interim position followed the release of body camera and security camera footage of Wiley's shooting. That footage, released on Oct. 22 by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, showed an officer shooting several times into a fleeing vehicle, including through the passenger-side window.
Police were at the Senatobia Walmart on June 14 for a separate incident, but chased after two people who were allegedly shoplifting. Body camera footage showed police pointing guns at the car those people had gotten inside of and shouting "stop the car."
Body camera footage from Foster, the officer who shot Wiley, showed the officer approach the car as it reversed and attempted to drive away. The officer stepped in front of the car, which had been moving forward slowly, but stepped aside as it started to accelerate.
The officer appeared to shoot into the vehicle at least three times, including through the passenger side window, while stepping out of the vehicle's path. No law enforcement officers were reported as being hurt in the incident, though the footage seemed to show the car making minor contact with another officer.
Wiley was killed in the shooting, and another passenger was airlifted to Regional One Health with critical injuries. The car's third passenger did not appear to be injured.
The city announced on June 16 that it had placed Foster on leave. Days before his resignation was accepted, the Mississippi Attorney General's Office found Foster's use of force to be justified and said he would not face criminal charges.
Lucas Finton covers crime, policing, jails, the courts and criminal justice policy for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by phone or email: (901)208-3922 and Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com, and followed on X @LucasFinton.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Senatobia appoints new interim police chief amid Kohen Wiley fallout
