A former Los Angeles Police Department officer accused of fatally shooting an unarmed homeless man in Venice nearly a decade ago has been arrested on a felony murder warrant, authorities confirmed Thursday. Clifford Proctor, 60, was taken into custody at Los Angeles International Airport after returning from abroad, according to two law enforcement sources familiar with the case.
The arrest marks a major development in a legal battle that has stretched nearly ten years. “The Los Angeles Police Department is aware of the arrest of a former LAPD officer at Los Angeles International Airport on a felony murder warrant,” the department said in a statement.
Proctor is accused of shooting 29-year-old Brendon Glenn twice in the back during a confrontation outside a bar near the Venice Boardwalk in May 2015. Glenn, who was unarmed, died at the scene. The killing sparked public outrage and protests, with many demanding accountability for what they saw as an unnecessary and excessive use of force.
At the time, former LAPD Chief Charlie Beck called for criminal charges against Proctor, but then-District Attorney Jackie Lacey declined to file a case in 2018. The matter appeared to have stalled until last year, when former District Attorney George Gascón ordered a fresh review by special prosecutor Lawrence Middleton as part of a broader re-examination of officer-involved shootings.
A warrant for Proctor’s arrest was issued following that review. Proctor, however, had been living outside the United States when the warrant was issued, multiple sources told The Los Angeles Times. He was apprehended after flying back into the country this week. Court documents have yet to show a formal criminal complaint, and the current district attorney’s office declined to comment on the arrest.
Proctor’s former defense attorney, Bill Seki, said he had no information about the case. The original district attorney’s report detailed that Proctor and another officer responded to reports of Glenn and his dog causing a disturbance near the Bank of Venice restaurant. After a verbal exchange, Glenn walked away but was later involved in a separate altercation with a bouncer. When officers tried to intervene, a struggle broke out.
Proctor fired twice into Glenn’s back while the two were on the ground. Proctor’s attorney at the time claimed Glenn was reaching for an officer’s gun, but video evidence contradicted that account. The LAPD Police Commission later found that Glenn’s hand was never near the weapon and that Proctor’s partner gave no indication that Glenn posed a threat.
Proctor’s arrest renews attention on one of Los Angeles’s most controversial police shootings — a case that continues to test the boundaries of accountability for law enforcement officers.