Los Angeles Joins Debate on Force After Police Killing of Homeless Man

When rioters exploded into the streets here a quarter-century ago, angry that the police officers who had been caught on tape beating Rodney King would escape criminal punishment, this city became a national symbol for police violence run amok.

But now, as the district attorney, Jackie Lacey, considers whether to bring charges against an officer who shot a homeless man last year, the atmosphere in Los Angeles demonstrates the growing pressure that prosecutors now face to move aggressively against officers who kill civilians. 

For the first time in his six-year tenure, the police chief, Charlie Beck, has called for the prosecution of an officer in a fatal on-duty shooting, urging Ms. Lacey to file criminal charges against Officer Clifford Proctor for shooting Brendon Glenn, during an attempted arrest in Venice last May.

The police commission, which oversees the Los Angeles Police Department, also condemned the shooting as unjustified.