A former sheriff's deputy who shot and killed a 22-year-old man who called 911 for help in June 2022 was found guilty Friday of reckless endangerment, but a Colorado jury found him guilty of murder and public service charges. He said he was unable to reach a verdict. Cheating.
The judge in the case, which drew scrutiny for the police's response to the crisis intervention, decided on sentencing for the reckless endangerment charge and for the jury to deliberate for three days before reaching verdicts on two other charges. A public hearing to discuss what happened was scheduled for Monday afternoon.
Former deputy Andrew Buen was charged with second-degree murder and official misconduct in the November 2022 shooting death of Christian Glass, whose SUV became stuck on a nearby mountain embankment and called for help. He was charged with reckless endangerment. Silver Plume, Colorado, approximately 72 miles west of Denver.
Prosecutors and Mr. Buen's attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
“This is a small step toward justice,” Siddhartha Rathod, the Glass family's attorney, said in a brief interview Friday.
After Glass called 911 for help on June 10, 2022, about six police officers, including Buen, arrived and spent more than an hour trying to convince him to get out of the SUV.
Body camera footage showed Glass had a knife in his hand and officers asked him to drop it. When Buen did not comply with commands, he used a baton to break the passenger side window, according to the indictment. Officers then used a stun gun on Glass and fired a bean bag round, documents state.
At some point during the night, Glass brandished the knife in multiple directions “in a state of complete panic and self-defense,” according to the indictment. That's when Mr. Buen fired five shots with his service pistol. Glass was later pronounced dead at the scene, according to the indictment.
Glass' mother, Sally Glass, said her son was having a “mental health episode” the night he was killed.
Before the jury began deliberating Wednesday, Clear Creek County District Attorney Heidi McCallum said in court that officers were concerned that Glass might get out of the SUV and use a knife, but at the same time She said she also hoped he would get out of the car. vehicle.
“How could Christian have won that night?” McCollum said. “Perhaps the better question is how was Christian able to live through that night?”
Mr Buen's lawyer, Carrie Slinkard, said in court that Mr Glass had threatened the officers with a knife.
“No one wanted Christian to die that night,” Slinkard said. “Action was taken in response to conduct endangering the lives of others.”
Buen was initially placed on administrative leave following the shooting and returned to the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office in September 2022. He was fired in November 2022 after the indictment against him was made public.
Kyle Gould, another deputy with the sheriff's office, was charged in November 2022 with criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment in connection with the shooting.
Mr. Gould did not respond to Mr. Glass's calls for help that night, but Mr. Gould had been linked to the shooting because he was the boss of Mr. Glass's attorney, who was one of the deputies who responded to the 911 call. . In 2023, he said:
As part of the plea agreement, Gould pleaded guilty to failure to intervene in November 2023 and was sentenced to two years' probation. Gould is prohibited from working in law enforcement as part of his plea agreement, according to the Fifth Judicial District District Attorney's Office.
The other six officers who responded to the 911 call were each charged with one misdemeanor count of failure to intervene in November 2023, according to the District Attorney's Office. The officer charged was Georgetown Sheriff Randy Williams. Officer Timothy Collins of the Georgetown Police Department. Officer Brittany Morrow of the Idaho Springs Police Department. Officer Ryan Benny of the Colorado State Patrol. Colorado Gaming Division Officers Krista Lloyd and Mary J. Harris; Marshal Williams was also charged with third-degree assault.
The cases against these six officers remain unresolved.
Glass' parents received a $19 million settlement announced in May 2023. Under the terms of the settlement, Mr. Glass' parents would receive money from state and local agencies, and changes would be made to the way officers perform their duties. The family's lawyer says they need to train for similar situations.