LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Thursday dismissed the murder indictment against former Los Angeles Police Department Officer Clifford Proctor, who fatally shot unarmed 29-year-old Brendon Glenn during an altercation in Venice, according to a statement from civil rights attorney V. James DeSimone.
DeSimone, who represents Glenn’s family, released a statement saying, “The family of Brendon Glenn is both disappointed and frustrated that once again there will be a delay in the prosecution of Officer Proctor.”
He added that Glenn was shot “two times in the back when he posed no imminent threat of harm.”
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, DeSimone and others “opposed the defense motion to dismiss the case, noting that the grand jury heard and saw sufficient evidence that Proctor unlawfully and maliciously intended to kill the victim.”
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Coen granted the defense motion to dismiss and criticized former Special Prosecutor Lawrence Middleton for failing “to present to the grand jury in 2024 any evidence of malice in the fatal shooting” and failing to “properly present exculpatory evidence to the grand jury favorable to Proctor.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, Judge Coen said that “it cannot be said in any shape or form that the defendant had any malice,” which would be a necessary element of any murder charge.
DeSimone noted in his statement that they “have been in touch with the special prosecutor and there appears to be an extremely strong and valid basis for appeal,” calling upon Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman to green-light the appeal.
District Attorney Hochman plans to appeal the court’s ruling, maintaining that “there was more than sufficient evidence presented to the grand jury to show that Mr. Proctor was guilty of second-degree murder for maliciously killing an unarmed man.”
He and others “are surprised and disappointed by the judge’s decision, whose erroneous ruling has thwarted … efforts to obtain justice” for Glenn.
The opposition argued that “they presented ample evidence of the element of malice to support the grand jury’s probable cause finding.” Some of the evidence included “no evidence of aggression by the victim,” Officer Proctor threatening to shoot Glenn’s dog “with a profanity-laced invective” out of frustration, as well as witness tampering and subornation of perjury.
Officer Proctor’s partner also testified, saying that he did not “believe Glenn presented a deadly threat to him” and did not hear any warning from Proctor that Glenn was attempting to reach “for the officer’s duty weapon or backup weapon.”
The opposition motion argued that the “[d]efendant’s decision to shoot and kill Mr. Glenn without any justification was evidence that he acted with conscious disregard for human life, the final element for a finding of implied malice.”
In 2018, former Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey wrote an 83-page report that was presented to the grand jury, “finding that there was insufficient evidence to prove Proctor acted unlawfully in self-defense and in defense of others when he used deadly force.”
The panel returned the indictment after hearing witness testimony and the presentation of the report. Former District Attorney Lacey “decided against filing criminal charges,” despite former Police Chief Charlie Beck publicly calling “on her to charge manslaughter.”
District Attorney George Gascón, her successor, reopened the investigation. An arrest warrant for Officer Proctor was issued in 2024, and he was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents a year later.
“If prior prosecutors had done their job we wouldn’t be here today,” said DeSimone. “But contrary to some thinking, our philosophy is that justice delayed is still justice.”
Special Prosecutor Michael Gennaco, “one of the country’s leading experts on officer-involved shootings and police use of force,” is prosecuting the case.
Tags: LAPD, Clifford Proctor, Brendon Glenn, Police Shooting, Los Angeles County Superior Court, Criminal Justice Reform
