By Chris Keller and Paige Osburn
KPCC 89.3
December 2, 2016
The city of Los Angeles has agreed to a $4 million settlement of a federal lawsuit filed by the family of an unarmed homeless man shot and killed by police in May 2015 in Venice, court records show.
Police shot and killed 29-year-old Brendon Glenn in May 2015 after two officers responded to a 911 call about a man arguing with a bouncer from the Townhouse bar and hassling passers-by. The officers were trying to detain Glenn when the shooting occurred.
Los Angeles City Attorney's Office spokesman Frank Mateljan said by email that the city would not be commenting on the settlement.
The settlement is conditional on approval by the Los Angeles City Council, according to court records filed on Nov. 17. The records indicate that approval could occur later this month.
"While no amount of money would have compensated [Glenn's family] for the loss of this son and father ... it was important to bring closure so they didn't have to go through what would have been a contentious and painful trial," said V. James DeSimone, the attorney who represented Glenn's mother Sheryn Camprone in a federal and a state lawsuit filed in February.
A hearing in the state lawsuit is scheduled for Dec. 16, according to court records. It is not immediately clear if this lawsuit will proceed if the City Council approves a settlement in the federal case.
Glenn was standing on a sidewalk outside a Venice bar when the doorman told him to move on. The two then came into physical contact, the lawsuits state. Glenn started to leave when officers confronted and grabbed Glenn without justification. They gave no verbal command or warning before he was shot, according to court records.
Glenn struggled with the officers as they arrested him, according to court records. Officer Clifford Proctor told investigators Glenn also grabbed for his partner's holster.
That claim was contradicted by Proctor's partner and by video footage, and investigators concluded Glenn was trying to push himself up when Proctor shot him twice in the back, at a range of one foot, six inches, killing him.
Earlier this year, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck recommended prosecutors file criminal charges against Proctor. The Los Angeles Police Commission then found Proctor's use of lethal force to be outside the scope of departmental policy.
The L.A. County District Attorney's Office investigation into whether criminal charges are warranted continues, spokesman Greg Risling said via email Friday afternoon.
A KPCC analysis published last year found the D.A.'s office hasn't charged a law enforcement officer in L.A. County with criminal charges related to an on-duty shooting since 2000. In that case, former LAPD officer Ron Orosco was charged with assault and sentenced to five years in prison.
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