Jury finds former deputy guilty in Christian Glass’ death
A Clear Creek County jury found Andrew Buen, a former sheriff’s deputy, guilty of criminally negligent homicide Thursday afternoon in the fatal shooting of Christian Glass.
The jury deliberated for about eight hours before returning its verdict at about 2:30 p.m Thursday.
Buen was charged with second-degree murder, which carries a prison sentence up to 24 years, but the jury did not find that the shooting rose to the level of that charge. Criminally negligent homicide is a felony that normally carries a potential sentence of up to three years in prison.
Judge Catherine Cheroutes called a 30-minute recess after reading the verdict, to allow both sides to prepare for arguments over whether Buen should be taken into custody, as prosecutors requested following the guilty verdict, or be allowed to post bond pending sentencing.
Buen, wearing a collared shirt and blue sweater, hung his head in his hands after the judge read the guilty verdict, and appeared to wipe tears from his eyes while he sat next to his attorneys in the front of the courtroom.
The verdict came after a retrial for Buen, who prosecutors said failed to protect Glass as he experienced a mental health crisis inside his car that became stuck on a dirt road in the small mountain town of Silver Plume in June 2022.
Buen’s defense argued the former deputy tried everything to help Glass and avoid hurting him, but ultimately shot his weapon and killed Glass because he feared the other officers on scene were in imminent danger. In closing arguments Wednesday, one of Buen’s defense attorneys, asked the jury to avoid using hindsight to make their decision.
The retrial started Feb. 7 after a different jury in April found Buen guilty of reckless endangerment, but could not reach a unanimous decision on the murder count or an official misconduct charge.
During the trial, body camera footage and recorded 911 audio were played to the jury. After calling 911 for a motor assist, Glass told a dispatcher that he had a small knife, a mallet and a hammer in his car and offered to throw them out the window when officers arrived, audio showed.
But when Buen arrived on scene, he told Glass to keep them in the car.
Body camera footage showed the officers from several agencies on a dirt road next to Glass’ car for more than 70 minutes as Glass refused to come out of his car, telling people he’s terrified and making a heart shape with hands to officers.
At one point, Glass can also be seen praying with folded hands and saying, “Dear Lord, don’t let them break the window.” When officers broke the window, Glass seemed to panic and grabbed a knife.
Over the radio, Colorado State Patrol asked what the deputies’ plan is, before saying that if Glass is not suicidal, homicidal or posing danger there is no reason to contact him.
But the interaction escalated as Glass refused to get out of the car or roll down the window. Officers threatened to break the window and Glass, who threatened to kill them if they didn’t leave him alone. One officer got on the hood of the vehicle, pointing a gun and bright light at Glass. After about an hour, officers broke the window and Glass grabbed a knife. Officers shot him with bean bags and a stun gun, and Glass screamed as he was being pelted and hit with a Taser.
The video shows Glass, still in the driver’s seat, thrusting a knife toward an officer. Then Glass was shot five times.
Buen and his supervisor, Kyle Gould, were fired from the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office after a grand jury found their decision to remove Glass from his car “directly led” to his death.
Gould, who authorized Glass to be removed from his car and was initially charged with criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors and was sentenced to two years of unsupervised probation in November 2023. He was also barred from working in law enforcement or security.
Glass’ death drew national attention and raised questions once again over how law enforcement responds to 911 calls involving a person who is suffering a mental health crisis.
Glass’ parents received $19 million in a settlement following their son’s death. As part of the agreement, Sally and Simon Glass also negotiated for changes they hope will prevent another family from suffering a loss like theirs, including the establishment of a crisis response team and more training for law enforcement on crisis intervention.