LOS ANGELES, CA – Civil rights attorneys representing the family of Brendon Glenn are demanding justice after the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office unsealed an indictment against former LAPD Officer Clifford Proctor, who fatally shot Glenn, an unarmed 29-year-old man, in 2015, according to a statement released Friday by V. James DeSimone Law.
Attorney V. James DeSimone said in the firm’s statement that “criminal charges against Officer Proctor have been a political football for the past decade,” emphasizing that the unsealed indictment “illustrates what Chief Beck and anyone who viewed this video have known all along. There was no justification for shooting Brendon Glenn.” DeSimone urged District Attorney Nathan Hochman to “pick up the ball and prosecute Officer Proctor for second-degree murder.”
According to the same release, attorney Ryann Hall noted that DA Hochman had recently said, “As government employees, we have an obligation to uphold the public’s trust.” Hall added that Glenn’s family “is hopeful the DA will do just that and honor the grand jury’s indictment,” describing prosecution as “long overdue” and essential to restoring fairness in the criminal justice system.
The press statement explained that Glenn was unarmed and died after being shot twice in the back by Proctor on May 5, 2015, after LAPD officers responded to a disturbance outside a Venice bar. The officers had observed a bouncer restraining Glenn before the shooting occurred. The LAPD later ruled the use of force unjustified and in violation of department policy, according to the release.
Former LAPD Chief Charlie Beck had publicly urged prosecutors to file manslaughter charges against Proctor, who left the department in 2017. Former District Attorney Jackie Lacey declined to pursue criminal charges in 2018, but her successor, George Gascón, reopened the case in 2021 by appointing a special prosecutor. That review resulted in a warrant for Proctor’s arrest in October 2024, as noted in the attorneys’ statement.
In the release, Glenn’s family also asked the media to “stop describing Brendon as a homeless man.” The family hopes District Attorney Nathan Hochman will “honor the grand jury’s indictment and move forward with a prosecution of Officer Proctor,” describing the long-overdue case as a test of the DA’s commitment to “justice and fairness in all aspects of our criminal justice system.”
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