LAPD officer charged with murder in 2015 killing of homeless man, Brendan Glenn, in Venice beach
A grand jury has indicted former Los Angeles Police Department officer Clifford Proctor on a second-degree murder charge for the May 2015 shooting death of an unarmed homeless man, Brendon Glenn, in Venice, California. The case, long dormant after an initial declination of charges, was reopened as part of a broader review of use-of-force incidents. The city previously paid a wrongful-death settlement, and the upcoming prosecution marks a significant moment in L.A. policing accountability.
TL;DR
Retired LAPD officer indicted for murder. After a local shooting of an unarmed man in 2015, which was the result of a ten-year investigation and a change in the district attorney's stance, murder charges are going to be filed.
A public release of a grand jury indictment on a Friday has charged former LAPD officer Clifford Proctor with second-degree murder in connection with the Glock-shooting death of homeless man Brendon Glenn in Venice, California, in May of 2015.
The indictment was made possible, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, by the complete investigation of police use-of-force cases during the period of then-District Attorney George Gascón and his successor Nathan Hochman following the colored man's death. Proctor didn't change his tune and still maintains his innocence. We'll definitely hear this case in court next month.
Before the police, the officers closest to the shooting scene found Brendon Glenn severely injured from a gunshot near the Venice boardwalk. Local policemen were dispatched to the scene due to a homeless man creating a disturbance in the crowd near the Bank of Venice restaurant. However, the man was only one of several reasons for the call. The officers then confronted Glenn after the bouncer had a dispute with him. During the ensuing struggle, Proctor fired two shots into Glenn’s back while Glenn was on his stomach and trying to push himself up, according to an internal LAPD report.
Proctor later told investigators he believed Glenn was reaching for his partner’s holster, but video evidence reportedly contradicted that claim. The report noted that at no time did the video show Glenn’s hand on or near the holster, and his partner said he did not feel any such attempt. The department’s Police Commission deemed the shooting unjustified in 2016.
The city of Los Angeles settled a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by Glenn’s family for $4 million in 2017. Proctor left the LAPD and took up his resignation in 2017.
In 2018, District Attorney Jackie Lacey at that time did not prosecute Proctor, saying that there was not enough evidence to charge him with a crime. Proctor’s attorney, Anthony “Tony” Garcia, has questioned the timing of the current indictment, pointing to that previous decision.
Under the current review, DA Hochman’s office noted that the indictment was generated under the previous administration’s special-prosecutor unit but will now be evaluated for prosecution at Hochman’s discretion. The family of Glenn is represented by civil rights lawyers who say that the prosecution is overdue but they also hope that the case will bring about a significant accountability measure.
The case brings out the very center of the criticisms directed against the Los Angeles police department (LAPD) with respect to the use of gunfire in the case of the homeless people or minorities. CHARLIE BECK, the then chief of LAPD, in his 2016 recommendation to prosecute, empathizing with the shooter, was the first time he, as a chief, publicly urged for the criminal indictment of the on-duty officer in a fatal shooting. So he wrote to the district attorney requesting that the case be charged.
The court is dealing with the issue of Proctor's bail set at no release. He is holding in custody, and his subsequent hearing will be on November 3. After years of silence, the decision to carry on with prosecution might reflect the manner of the Los Angeles County justice system in handling police-involved killings in the future.
FAQs
- Why is the charge coming now?
The DA's office initially chose not to prosecute at all, which prompted the special prosecutor to take a look at the case and it turned into the investigation that was responsible for the change of the use-of-force cases under the previous DA Gascón. It was DA Hochman who made the new indictment public. - What has been the official response?
In 2016, the Police Commission of the Los Angeles Police Department after the review of the incident came to a negative decision about the shooting and the city paid $4 million to the Glenn's family as a settlement. The family's lawyers declare the indictment is the nearest point they have ever been to justice. - What’s next in the legal process?
Proctor’s next court date is November 3. DA Hochman, upon looking at the grand jury and investigation file, has to decide whether to prosecute formally.