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Saturday, May 9, 2015

Cops kill an unarmed Black man in Venice: What do we have to burn down to make the news?

Another unarmed black man was murdered by the police in Venice Beach, CA on Tuesday. His name was Brendon K. Glenn. He was young, just 29. He was new in town and homeless. He is reported to have had mental problems and was drunk on Cinco de Mayo. He had a reputation for giving people hugs whether they wanted them or not but when he tried to hug the bouncer at the Townhouse bar on Windward Ave around 11:30PM, he called the cops. The cops asked Brendon Glenn to show some ID, and when he went into his pocket, one of the cops shot him dead, according to witnesses.

Venice Residents Protest Cop Killing


Having this happen in our community, fresh on the heels of the murder of so many unarmed black men in the past year including Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Michael Brown in Ferguson, Eric Garner in Stanton Island, John Crawford in Beavercreek, Ezell Ford in Los Angeles, Dante Parker in Victorville, Naeschylus Vinzant in Aurora, Tony Robinson in Madison, Anthony Hill in Atlanta, Akai Gurley in Brooklyn, Kajieme Powell in St. Louis, Dante Parker in San Bernardino, Tyree Woodson in Baltimore, and so many others, the people of Venice were outraged. Many held an all night vigil at the scene of the murder the next night. Even LAPD police chief Charlie Beck expressed his doubts, saying:
“Any time an unarmed person is shot by a Los Angeles police officer, it takes extraordinary circumstances to justify that, I have not seen those extraordinary circumstances.”
Naturally the police protective league was outraged. There was a hastily called community meeting on Thursday evening that packed the auditorium at Westminster school on Abbot-Kinney Blvd. Many city official and what looked like about half of the LAPD were also in attendance.

Community Meeting at Westminster School


Bree Walker speaks out at community meeting while Petey sleeps

Local TV News Report on Police Killing of Brendon Glenn


Since the shooting, the protests and demonstrations have come non-stop and the shooting has been all over the news in Los Angeles, but it you live outside of Los Angeles you probably haven't heard the news. That is the rather unique prospective I have had on these events because I have been in Texas for work this week. I heard about it from friends. I found more by watching local LA news on the Internet and YouTube, and I waited all week in vain to hear mention of yet another unarmed black man gunned down by police on CNN, Fox News, or MSNBC.

When I wasn't at work, I have been stuck in the hotel with nothing to do but watch the news, so I don't think I've missed the reports. Yesterday morning's news was all about the police. They were still bring non-stop coverage of events relating to the Freddie Gray murder, include live coverage of U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch's press conference announcing a new investigation of the Baltimore police and live coverage of the cop funeral in New York City, but of Brendon Glenn and the police murder in Venice, not a word. Its as though there was a news black out about this death in Venice that was only revealed to me because I have local connections. It made me wonder how many other unarmed black men had been gunned down by police this week and have gone unreported. Because that is the real scandal, not just the individual circumstance of the killing of Freddie Gray, Michael Brown and others that managed to break through to the national news, but the on-going rate at which black men are slaughtered by the police in the United States, and that is what I think the media is trying to hide by refusing national coverage of the death of Brendon Glenn. The people of Venice have protested vigorously, but so far they have protested peacefully, and maybe that is the problem. So my question to CNN, Fox News and MSNBC is:

What do we have to burn down to get you to cover this story?

I hope its not the local CVS Pharmacy, because its right across the street from me and very convenient. But if putting the torch to it is the only way to get the national media to recognize the death of Brendon Glenn, then I say "Burn it down!"

And to the media moguls and politicians who cry crocodile tears whenever property is destroyed in a riot, I say, I hold you responsible because you work to cover up these murders and people have learned from long and bitter experiences that the only way they can get recognition for the grievous loss of human life in such cases is to destroy something dear to the powers that be - their property.

Photos by Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times
An investigation is underway in Venice after a man  was shot and killed by Los Angeles police officers.
Evidence markers on the sidewalk where a man was shot and killed by Los Angeles police officers.

Officers with the LAPD’s Pacific Division were called to the area around Windward and Pacific avenues about 11:30 p.m. after a man described as a transient was reported to be harassing passersby.

An investigation was underway in Venice after a man who had reportedly been in an altercation with a bar bouncer and harassed people was shot and killed by Los Angeles police officers after a struggle.

One officer suffered a leg injury in an incident in which a man was fatally shot by police in Venice on Tuesday.

Allison Holden, left, and friends of the victim, hold a handmade sign near scene of the shooting.

Onlookers stand Wednesday near the site where a man was shot and killed by Los Angeles police officers after a struggle Tuesday night.

Solomon Turner protests the fatal shooting of a homeless man by Los Angeles police in Venice.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck discusses the officer-involved shooting in the Venice area that left a man dead.

LAPD officers keep an eye on protesters near the site of a fatal LAPD officer-involved shooting in Venice.

 Karl Harris, 55, protest the killing of an unarmed homeless man, near the site of a fatal LAPD officer-involved shooting in Venice.

A man places flowers at a growing memorial for a homeless man killed by LAPD in Venice.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck says he's "very concerned" about the fatal shooting by an officer of an unarmed homeless man in Venice.

A man on a bike pedals past a messages written in chalk near the site of a fatal LAPD officer-involved shooting of a homeless man.

People react after hearing about an LAPD shooting of a homeless man in Venice.

Protesters shout at police officers near the scene of the officer-involved shooting in Venice.

A die-in was held to protest the killing of an unarmed homeless man by an LAPD officer in Venice.

Solomon Turner, 54, protests an LAPD officer-involved shooting of a homeless man in Venice.

Matty Flip protest the killing of an unarmed homeless man, near the site of a fatal LAPD officer-involved shooting in Venice

LAPD officials faced an angry, standing-room-only crowd at Westminster Avenue Elementary School in Venice over the department's shooting death of a homeless man. C.R, standing, wore a shirt showing Brendon K. Glenn, the victim in the shooting, and shouted during the meeting.

LAPD officials host a town hall meeting to discuss the fatal officer-involved shooting of an unarmed homeless man near the boardwalk. Community members often shouted complaints, disrupting officials' attempts to speak.

Peggy Kennedy speaks to LAPD officials at the town hall meeting at Westminster Elementary School.

Venice resident Bree Walker with her dog Petey, speaks to a panel of LAPD officials and hundreds of spectators during the town hall meeting to discuss the fatal shooting of an unarmed homeless man near the boardwalk.

King Solomon, the Snake Man of Venice Beach, shouts at LAPD officers after the town hall meeting.


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