No Charges Filed Against Ex-Cop Who Shot Unarmed Homeless Man

VENICE, CA – Prosecutors declined to file charges Thursday against a now-former Los Angeles Police Department officer who fatally shot a homeless man near the Venice Beach boardwalk, even though LAPD Chief Charlie Beck had recommended that the officer be prosecuted.

The 83-page report concluded that "there is insufficient evidence to prove that Officer Clifford Proctor acted unlawfully in self-defense and in defense of others when he used deadly force against Brendon Glenn" on May 5, 2015. Glenn was unarmed, and his death sparked a series of protests.

"After an independent and thoroughreview of all the evidence in this case, we cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Proctor did not act within the law," Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said.

The evidence includes body-worn and surveillance videos, 10 civilian eyewitness statements, DNA analysis and the opinion of a nationally recognized use-of-force expert retained by the District Attorney's Office.

Under the law, on-duty police officers retain the right to act in lawful self-defense or defense of another if it appears that they actually and reasonably believed they or another were in imminent danger of great bodily injury or death, according to the District Attorney's Office press release.

Prosecutors concluded that the evidence did not support a finding that Proctor was unreasonable in believing Glenn posed an imminent threat of great bodily injury to himself or others, the press release said. Proctor may have reasonably believed that Glenn was reaching for his partner's weapon, based on the circumstances at the time of the shooting, the press release said. An independent use-of-force expert also concluded that Proctor acted reasonably under the circumstances, according to the District Attorney's Office.

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City News Service and Patch staffer Emily Holland contributed to this post; Image via Shutterstock