An ex-LAPD officer who shot and killed an unarmed homeless man in 2015 was arrested on a felony homicide warrant Thursday, authorities mentioned.
Clifford Proctor, 60, was arrested at Los Angeles Worldwide Airport after flying again to the U.S. from a overseas nation, in response to two legislation enforcement sources with direct information of the state of affairs who requested anonymity to debate an ongoing legal case.
“The Los Angeles Police Division is conscious of the arrest of a former LAPD officer at Los Angeles Worldwide Airport on a felony homicide warrant,” the division mentioned in an announcement.
The deadly 2015 confrontation triggered a decadelong authorized combat over whether or not Proctor ought to face legal prices for his on-duty actions.
Proctor fired two deadly photographs into the again of Brendon Glenn, 29, after a dispute with a bouncer outdoors a bar close to the Venice Speedway in Might 2015. Glenn was unarmed on the time, and the capturing sparked outrage and protests.
Former Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck publicly referred to as for Proctor to be charged within the capturing. In 2018, then-L.A. County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey declined to carry a case.
Sources beforehand informed The Instances {that a} warrant for Proctor’s arrest was issued final 12 months, after then-Dist. Atty. George Gascón had the case reviewed by a particular prosecutor, Lawrence Middleton, whom he employed to re-examine prosecutions of police in on-duty shootings. Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman fired Middleton earlier this 12 months.
The district lawyer’s workplace declined to remark. Calls to Gascón, Middleton and Michael Gennaco, the particular prosecutor Hochman positioned over the case earlier this 12 months, weren’t instantly returned.
Invoice Seki, Proctor’s former protection lawyer, mentioned he had no details about an arrest. Court docket information don’t present the submitting of a legal criticism in opposition to Proctor.
The ex-officer was identified to be dwelling outdoors the nation on the time Gascón obtained the arrest warrant final 12 months, a number of legislation enforcement sources informed The Instances.
Proctor was arrested after departing a global flight when officers with U.S. Customs and Border Safety flagged the arrest warrant, two sources informed The Instances. Los Angeles Airport Police initially took Proctor into custody, then turned him over to the LAPD.
“It’s about time that the subsequent step towards bringing justice for the household of Brendon Glenn is taken by arresting the officer who’s accountable for his demise,” mentioned V. James DeSimone, an lawyer for the Glenn household. “I do know that is one thing that is essential to his mom and sister they usually hope final justice is achieved with a conviction.”
Proctor and one other officer responded to reviews of Glenn and his canine inflicting a disturbance after he’d been kicked out of the Financial institution of Venice restaurant on Windward Avenue in 2015, in response to a report issued by the district lawyer’s workplace once they declined to prosecute Proctor.
Glenn’s canine moved towards Proctor, who threatened to shoot the animal earlier than ordering Glenn to go away the realm, the report mentioned. Glenn responded by hurling a number of racial slurs at Proctor. Each males are Black.
Glenn walked away from the realm and the officers adopted, the report mentioned. After Glenn obtained into an altercation with a bouncer at a unique bar, Proctor and his companion tried to arrest Glenn, the report mentioned.
In the course of the ensuing battle, Proctor shot Glenn twice within the again whereas the officers have been wrestling with him on the bottom. In 2016, Proctor’s lawyer mentioned Glenn was reaching for his companion’s gun, however footage from the scene contradicted that declare.
Glenn’s hand was by no means seen “on or close to any portion” of the holster, in response to a report made by town’s Police Fee in 2016, and Proctor’s companion by no means made “any statements or actions” suggesting Glenn was attempting to take the gun.
Proctor resigned from the LAPD in 2017.
Craig Lally, president of the Los Angeles Police Protecting League, the union that represents rank-and-file metropolis law enforcement officials, mentioned in an announcement that the group hasn’t represented Proctor since he left the division.
“We have now confidence that the legal justice system will produce a good final result with regard to this tragedy,” Lally mentioned.
