Former LAPD Officer Indicted in 2015 Shooting Death of Brendan Glenn
A former Los Angeles Police Department officer was charged yesterday with second-degree murder in connection with the 2015 shooting death of Brendan Glenn, an unarmed homeless man, in Venice.
Clifford Proctor, 60, pleaded not guilty to the charge following a grand jury indictment unsealed today. The shooting occurred during a struggle with officers outside a bar after Glenn, 29, had been involved in an altercation with a bouncer. Both Glenn and Proctor are Black. The case gained prominence as a focal point in protests against police shootings in Los Angeles.
The indictment follows a reexamination of four use-of-force cases by the office of current Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who took office after ousting George Gascón in November. According to police reports, Glenn was on his stomach attempting to rise when Proctor shot him in the back, and his partner stated he didn’t understand why the officer opened fire. Proctor resigned from the LAPD in 2017, and the city subsequently settled a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by Glenn’s family for $4 million. You can learn more about police misconduct from the American Civil Liberties Union.
Proctor’s attorney, Anthony “Tony” Garcia, questioned the timing of the charges, noting that prosecutors declined to file charges against his client in 2018. “There was insufficient evidence to prove Proctor acted unlawfully when he used deadly force,” former District Attorney Jackie Lacey said at the time. Proctor remains in jail, with his next court date scheduled for November 3.
