Former LAPD officer Clifford Proctor faces new second-degree murder indictment for 2015 Venice Beach shooting

A Los Angeles County grand jury has returned a new indictment charging former LAPD officer Clifford Proctor with second-degree murder for the May 2015 shooting of Brighton Glenn, an unarmed homeless man, on a Venice Beach path. The indictment follows a June ruling by Judge Ronald S. Coen that had dismissed a prior murder charge, a decision that prosecutors immediately appealed. According to special prosecutor Michael Gennaco, Proctor fired at Glenn’s back while attempting to arrest him after a dispute involving Glenn’s dog and verbal exchanges.

Video from the scene does not show Glenn reaching for a weapon, and Proctor’s partner, Jonathan Kawahara, testified that he did not believe Glenn was trying to seize a gun. Proctor briefly entered a downtown courtroom on Monday and is slated for arraignment later in the week. The case has moved through three district attorney administrations, with the current DA, Nathan Hochman, continuing to pursue the charge despite criticism of his handling of police-use-of-force cases.