The former Colorado Sheriff's deputy who fatally shot a 22-year-old man experiencing a mental health crisis on a dark mountain road in 2022 was convicted of criminally negligent murder on a criminally negligent Thursday.
Former Deputy Deputy Andrew Buen could be held in prison for up to three years when sentenced April 14, according to the Clear Creek County District Attorney's Office. The ju umpire refused to convict him on a more serious charge of second-degree murder in the murder of Christian Glass. A settlement for Mr. Glass's parents.
Last year, Buen was found guilty of reckless danger related to the shooting, but the ju judge was unable to sentence him on second-degree murder, so he went to prison for up to 48 years. It's there. This set up this month's trial and lasted for two weeks.
Glass's father, Simon Grass, said Thursday that Buen's conviction provided him with great relief.
“We don't have to worry constantly. 'Would he run away with that?” Simon Grass, 56, said over the phone after attending trial. “The ju-degree may have probably shown a little more mercy than he showed our son, but that's certain.”
Buen's lawyer, Mallory Rebel, said in a statement that the number of murders was “never a proper accusation in this case, so we are grateful to all ju-referees for recognizing it.” I stated.
“This case will have a widespread impact on law enforcement agencies across Colorado, but we respect the judicial system,” added Rebel.
In an interview, Clear Creek County District Attorney Heidi McCollum said, “I'm standing by the actions my office has done.”
“Hopefully this will bring more closures to the glass family if it is possible,” McCollum added.
Eight law enforcement officers have been charged in the case, with four cases still pending, according to the District Attorney's Office. Six officers on the scene were charged with one count, misdemeanor, in November 2023, unable to intervene.
Mr. Buen was the only officer to shoot Christian Glass., He was the only person to face murder charges, according to the District Attorney's Office. Another representative, Kyle Gould, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors. Reckless danger and failure to intervene. He was not sentenced to prison time.
Glass called 911 on the night of June 10th, 2022. His Honda pilot was stuck on a bank near Silver Plume, Colorado, a former mining camp about 45 miles west of Denver.
He was stuck and panicked while attempting a three-point turn, his father said in an interview. On a call with the dispatcher, Glass said his SUV was stuck in a “trap” and came out of depression.
Five law enforcement officials responded.
For an hour they got Mr. Glass, who had the knife, and left the car and tried to drop the knife. They used a stun gun and fired a beanbag round when he failed to follow their order to leave the vehicle, according to body camera footage.
According to the District Attorney's Office, Buen broke the passenger side window with the baton. The video shows Mr. Glass twisting in his seat and waving his arm in a broken window.
Mr. Buen then shot Mr. Glass five times with his service pistol. Glass was declared dead at the scene.
Glass's legal team said officers escalated the situation unnecessarily and used unnecessary offensive tactics during the encounter that lasted about 70 minutes.
Buen returned to work with the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office after the shooting, but was fired in November 2022 after charges against him were made public.
Nine US law enforcement officers have been convicted of murder in shootings since 2005, according to a tally by Philip M. Stinson, a criminal justice professor at Bowling Green State University, Ohio.
The 69 officers charged with murder were convicted of crimes in connection with the first correct shooting since 2005, Stinson said.
“This is unusual,” he said. “This extraordinary factual pattern is needed for an officer to be charged in any of these cases.”
Siddhartha H. Rathod, a lawyer for the Glass Family, said Buen's conviction on Thursday “sent a clear message to law enforcement.”
