Former LAPD officer faces arrest for fatal shooting of homeless man in Venice Beach in 2015

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A former Los Angeles police officer who fatally shot an unarmed homeless man in Venice in 2015 but was spared from prosecution at the time now faces an arrest warrant in connection with the shooting, it was reported Thursday.

Citing unnamed sources familiar with the case, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that an arrest warrant had been issued for Clifford Proctor. According to the newspaper, two police officers confirmed that an arrest warrant had been issued but declined to say why. However, according to The Times, two other people familiar with the case said Proctor’s arrest was being sought in connection with the May 2015 killing of 29-year-old Brendon Glenn.

Proctor fatally shot Glenn on May 5, 2015, after an apparent argument between Glenn and a bouncer at a bar just steps from the Venice Beach boardwalk.

Proctor said at the time he thought Glenn was reaching for his partner’s gun. LAPD investigators concluded that Glenn was lying on his stomach when Proctor stepped back and fired twice, hitting Glenn in the back. Glenn’s death sparked a series of protests in the community and calls for the officer to be charged with a crime.

In March 2018, then-District Attorney Jackie Lacey announced that her office would not file charges against Proctor, citing “insufficient evidence,” despite then-LAPD Chief Charlie Beck recommending that the officer be prosecuted.

In April 2016, the Los Angeles Police Commission ruled the shooting was unjustified. Beck wrote in a report to the commission that there was no evidence that could independently establish that “there was a perception that a deadly threat existed.” Beck had recommended that Lacey press charges against Proctor, calling the shooting a “criminal act.”

The Times noted in its report Thursday that current District Attorney George Gascón hired a special prosecutor shortly after taking office to reopen investigations into four police shootings in which Lacey declined to press charges, including in the Proctor case.

Attorney V. James DeSimone, who represents Glenn’s mother, Sheri Camprone, and the rest of his family, issued a statement in response to the Times’ report, saying: “After many years of urging prosecutors to investigate the senseless killing of her Investigating Son, Sheri Feels Guilty It’s time for this unnecessary and unjustified killing of Brendon under the guise of authority to finally be put before a jury. They mourn his loss every day.

The evidence reviewed by the district attorney’s office under Lacey at the time included officer body camera footage, surveillance video, statements from 10 civilian eyewitnesses, DNA analysis and the “opinion of a nationally recognized use-of-force expert,” Lacey said at the time.

The use-of-force expert concluded that Procter’s “actions seen on the surveillance video were consistent with him observing a threat posed by Glenn,” according to an 83-page memorandum from the district attorney’s office investigating the shooting .

Glenn – who was “given multiple opportunities to leave the scene” and who “chose to be confrontational and aggressive towards civilians and the officers” – had 18 arrests, 12 convictions and seven pending cases, as well as multiple warrants for failure to appear in court and Toxicology tests showed his blood contained both alcohol and marijuana at the time of death, the memorandum said.

“A thorough review of the law and evidence in this matter leads to the conclusion that there is insufficient evidence to show that Proctor’s use of deadly force in the confrontation with Glenn on May 5, 2015 was unjustified,” the memorandum states . The report noted that while Proctor’s actions violated LAPD policy, the “standard of proof used in administrative proceedings does not correspond to the standard of proof used in criminal proceedings.”

Lacey noted that portions of the surveillance video played a significant role in the decision not to file charges and that excerpts from the video were embedded in the 83-page decision to provide “a glimpse into the evidence we presented in this.” case taken into account”.

She said her office also reviewed DNA evidence that showed Glenn could not be ruled out as a possible contributor to a mixed DNA sample from Proctor’s partner’s holster.

The city of Los Angeles paid $4 million to settle wrongful death lawsuits filed by Glenn’s relatives.