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Family of Hampton man shot, killed by police last month speaks out

Posted at 3:35 PM, Aug 05, 2012
and last updated 2012-08-05 15:35:30-04

The family of a Hampton man, shot and killed by police one month ago, is speaking for the first time.

"Bryant was a phenomenal man.  He would do anything for anybody that ever asked anything,” his sister, Stefine Craven, said, "He was all about family, keeping family together.  He tried to never let anything stop him.”

That's the Bryant Wieford that his sister remembers. 

"It's hard, because the way that he was taken from us, wasn't right," said Craven.

In the early morning hours of July 1, two Hampton police officers shot and killed Wieford on West Pembroke Avenue.

Investigators say Wieford had a baseball bat and struck one of the cop's cars.

Police say as the officers demanded he drop the bat, Wieford charged at them, and they both fired their guns.

The bullets killed him.

"He was a human being just like those officers.  They could have done something else other than to shoot and kill him, and they didn't,” said Craven.

At last check, the police department put the two officers involved in the shooting on paid leave while a criminal and administrative investigation took place.

The outcome of that investigation is not known at this point.