Unarmed homeless man killed after alleged altercation with LAPD officer

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LAPD Chief Charlie Beck expressed his concern Wednesday after a shooting left an unarmed homeless man dead in historic Venice.

The incident occurred Tuesday night when officers responded to reports of a homeless man who was “disturbing the peace” and “harassing a passersby” after an altercation with a bouncer at a bar.

The man, Brendon Glenn, 29, spoke with police and walked away, but an officer saw him start a fight, according to a KTLA report.

“The officers attempted to detain the suspect, and an altercation occurred between the two officers and the suspect,” Beck said. “During that physical altercation, an officer-involved shooting occurred.”

Watch a full report on the unarmed man’s death below:

Both Glenn and the officer who fatally shot him are black, according to Beck.

“Even if race is a small part of this, which I don’t think it is, they’re certainly outweighed by the mental health issues, the homeless issues, the alcohol issues,” Beck said. “All of those things … have nothing to do with a person’s race.”

Those who knew Glenn said that he was an upstanding member of the community and not violent by nature. He ran the Teen Project’s drop-in center and attended support groups.

Beck said that this particular shooting was concerning because of the unusual delay and was not sure it was justified. “Any time an unarmed person is shot by a Los Angeles police officer, it takes extraordinary circumstances to justify that, and I have not seen those extraordinary circumstances at this point,” he said.

“I know there are public concerns about this particular officer-involved shooting, as there are any time an unarmed individual is shot by a police officer. I am also very concerned about this shooting,” Beck said. “We will expend all resources to find out the truth of what happened last night on Windward Avenue.”