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ONE YEAR LATER: Officer who fired fatal shots coping, friends say

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As the Keith Lamont Scott family remembers the tragic moments that unfolded last year, friends and family of the officer who fired the fatal shots are speaking out too.

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It has been a difficult year for Officer Brentley Vinson’s family. They declined to talk but friends are asking the public to understand.

"He's a human being,” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Sgt. Phillip Thompson said. ‘We all are, and this is something that we never hope never pray we have to do."

(Vinson)

Thompson is Vinson's direct supervisor.

Vinson is a third-generation police officer.

His uncle, James Sutton, grew up in segregated Monroe and became the first African-American police chief in 1996. Vinson’s father, Alex Vinson, was one of the first African-American homicide investigators at CMPD and is now retired. His son followed in their footsteps.

"It's been pretty tough on them, but they are tough as nails,” family friend Darryl Sturdivant said. “They have a Christian foundation."

Sturdivant is a long-time family friend and said Brentley is a good man.

He attended Liberty University and played football and he said Vinson has a good heart and would never take a life unless he had no choice.

"His judgment is second to none,” Sturdivant said. “He's a great, great guy. I just hope people would understand that."

"He's dealing with it and it's something he's going to deal with the rest of his life,” Thompson said. “People don't see that, but this young man is going to deal with this the rest of his life."