Proctor said he shot Glenn twice when the officer saw Glenn reach for his partner’s holster. Both officers at the scene wore body cameras, but it was security footage from a nearby bar that seemed to trouble Beck. That footage has not been made public, but from a LAPD report published by The Los Angeles Times, the security video doesn’t seem to jibe with Proctor’s story. Beck wrote that “at no time during the struggle can Glenn’s hand be observed on or near any portion” of the second officer’s holster.
On May 5, Proctor and his partner––who has not been publicly identified––responded to a call reporting that an unarmed homeless man and his dog were bothering customers near the busy boardwalk. When they arrived, they found Glenn, a 29-year-old skateboarder often found in Venice’s bohemian, drifter scene, in front of a restaurant and seemingly intoxicated.
Glenn shouted at the officers, threatening to release his dog, a pitbull labrador mix, if they approached, according to the chief’s report. Proctor responded by saying, “Don’t come over here with your dog. I will shoot your dog.”
In his report, Beck wrote that the officers should have deescalated the situation because “operational success is based on the ability of the officers to effectively plan and approach each incident in a safe manner.” The lack of discussion between the officers about handling Glenn, or calling for backup when Glenn later pushed a bar bouncer at the scene, “was a substantial deviation, without justification, from approved Department tactical training,” Beck wrote.
After Glenn and the bouncer began shoving each other, one of the officers grabbed Glenn’s arm and Glenn tried to break free, according to the report. The officer grabbed Glenn’s hair and forced him to the ground, and both officers dug their knees into Glenn’s back. Glenn struggled, reaching his hand around. Proctor said “everything was happening so fast and everybody’s hands were flailing around … when I realized I didn’t have control …. proper control because he had spun us around and I saw …. his hand on my partners holster, that’s when I drew [the gun].”
Proctor said his first shot didn’t faze Glenn, so he fired again. After Beck watched security footage, he concluded that another officer with similar training wouldn’t agree “there was a substantial risk that the situation may escalate to the point where deadly force may be justified.”
The other officer with Proctor would later say Glenn’s hand didn’t near the holster, and the security footage, based on Beck’s report, appears to support this claim.
After Glenn’s death, protestors in Venice demanded Proctor be charged for the killing, and the LAPD held a contentious town hall meeting. In January, Beck recommended charges against the officer.
Video footage of police shootings—from cellphones, body cameras, or security cameras––have highlighted the potential for discrepancies between officers’ reports and actual events. And more and more, video evidence unsubstantiated what officers have said was a necessary escalation of force––often lethal force.