Mayor Cites 'Previous Commitments,' 'Family Engagement' For Absence At Venice Meeting
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Mayor Eric Garcetti told KNX 1070 Monday he was unable to attend a community meeting in Venice last week about the fatal shooting of a homeless man by police due to "previous commitments."
Appearing on the monthly "Ask The Mayor" segment on KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO, Garcetti told investigative reporter Charles Feldman there were two reasons he couldn't attend the meeting with Venice residents, police and city leaders, where protesters demanded to know why officers shot 29-year-old Brendon Glenn.
"Previous commitments and a family engagement that I could not break, and that's something as a father I won't do in certain situations, but that's a private reason," he said.
In his absence, Garcetti had a deputy mayor attend the meeting, he said.
When asked by Feldman when he would visit Venice to discuss the shooting with the community, the mayor said he had no "immediate plans" to do so.
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck was also absent from the meeting. Police have acknowledged Glenn was unarmed at the time of the shooting.
The shooting will be reviewed by the civilian Police Commission, the department's inspector general and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Two officers involved in the shooting have been removed from the field.
