Prosecutors Decline To File Charges In Police Shooting That Left Homeless Man Dead

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA/AP) — A former Los Angeles police officer who shot and killed a homeless man during an altercation in Venice in May 2015 will not be charged, prosecutors announced Thursday.

Los Angeles County prosecutors released an 83-page report Thursday that found there is insufficient evidence to prove that Officer Clifford Proctor acted unlawfully when he fatally shot Brendon Glenn in May 2015 in Venice.

"After an independent and thorough review of all the evidence in this case, we cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Proctor did not act within the law," Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a statement.

Glenn, 29, of Troy, New York, was on his stomach and trying to push himself up when Proctor shot him in the back, police have said. Glenn wasn't trying to take a gun from Proctor or his partner when he was shot, and Proctor's partner told investigators that he didn't know why the officer opened fire, according to police.

But according to the District Attorney's office, which released a number of security camera and body camera footage from the incident, there was "insufficient evidence" to demonstrate that Proctor acted outside the scope of the law when he shot 29-year-old Brendon Glenn just steps away from the Venice Beach boardwalk.

Glenn was unarmed at the time of the shooting.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck had recommended that prosecutors criminally charge the officer. The police department's civilian oversight panel found the officer violated department policy.

Beck told reporters at a news conference Thursday that while he disagreed with Lacey's decision not to file any charges, he stood by his comments about the case.

"I often make comment on officer-involved shootings, and when I see an officer-involved shooting that at initial review appears to be proper I say so," Beck said. "... And I also in the rare cases when I see one that I think does not meet our standards or does not meet the legal standards I will also say that."

The fatal shooting led to a series of protests in Los Angeles.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)