Another Cop Kills an Unarmed Man, Another Video Hidden, Another Long Wait Before Charges

Brendon Glenn

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck (lower right) is lauded as a "hero" because he recommended "criminal charges" (whatever that means)  be sought against the officer who shot Glenn in the back — But it took the Chief eight months to come to this decision (the killing took place in May, 2015) even though he had a video tape of the incident (which suggests an execution: Glenn was laying on his stomach when he was shot).  The video recording of the killing still has not been released to the public.—Ronald David Jackson

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First Time for Everything: LAPD Chief Wants to See Officer Charged

By Rebecca McCray
When two police officers responded to reports of a man harassing bar customers on the beachside boardwalk in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles last May, they found Brendon Glenn, a 29-year-old homeless black man. After they spoke to him briefly, Glenn walked away from the officers, but they returned to the scene after observing from afar as he struggled with a bouncer, according to police reports. The rest of the incident was captured by surveillance footage that hasn’t been made public, from a nearby store. Glenn was shot three times—twice in the back—by Officer Clifford Proctor and died.

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Community uproar followed, as did a surprising response from LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, who had historically sided with his officers in response to shooting incidents. On Monday, Beck recommended criminal charges be sought against the LAPD officer responsible for the shooting.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement that he hoped Beck’s recommendation would be “considered with the utmost gravity,” adding, “No one is above the law.”

Groomed by New York City’s chief of police, William Bratton, Beck has struggled to earn the trust of community members in his six-plus years in the role. Between the introduction of a controversial police dashboard- and body-camera policy and a rise in police shootings of civilians, his tepid response to public concern over shootings has drawn the ire of advocates.

Glenn’s shooting by Proctor immediately spurred protests, echoing the calls for justice reverberating throughout the country in response to police shootings of civilians, particularly black men like Glenn. This is the first time Beck has recommended charges against an officer involved in a fatal shooting, according to the Los Angeles Times. The case now sits with L.A. County’s district attorney, who is considering Beck’s recommendation and will decide whether or not to bring charges.

Beck’s decision came after he reviewed an LAPD investigation into the shooting, which found that Glenn was on his stomach when Proctor shot him. The surveillance footage shows Proctor and his partner wrestles with Glenn and takes him to the ground, after which Proctor stands and moves away before shooting Glenn. At the time, Beck told reporters he was “very concerned” about the incident after watching the video.

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