A jury on Friday found a former sheriff’s deputy guilty of reckless endangerment after he shot and killed Christian Glass, who called 911 for help when his car became stranded on a mountain road. But the jury deadlocked on the more serious charge of second-degree murder, as well as another charge of official misconduct.
The verdict, handed down in a Georgetown courtroom, came on the third day of deliberation following a nearly two-week trial.
Prosecutors argued former Clear Creek County deputy Andrew Buen was not justified in forcing Glass out of his car and that the decision directly led to the 22-year-old’s death. Defense attorneys for Buen said Glass was intoxicated and was disobeying police orders. They also noted that he had a knife inside his car.
Had Buen been found guilty of murder, a felony, he faced a potential sentence of up to 24 years in prison. Reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, is punishable by up to 120 days in jail. Buen’s sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.
Prosecutors will now have to decide whether to seek a retrial for Buen on the murder and misconduct charges. Fifth Judicial District Court Judge Catherine Cheroutes set a hearing for Monday to plan a schedule for upcoming hearings.
“It feels very late in the day to make any decisions at this point,” she said.
The jury’s verdict, read just after 4:30 p.m. on Friday, came after a notably long deliberation. Earlier Friday afternoon, after the jury had been deliberating for more than a dozen hours, Cheroutes called the jurors into the courtroom to nudge them along, urging them to work together while respecting one another’s views.
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“It is your duty as jurors to consult with one another,” Cheroutes said. But, she added, “Each of you must decide the case for yourself.”
The jury verdict forms that finally arrived on Cheroutes’ bench hinted at how difficult the process had been. The first two forms Cheroutes read, for the second-degree murder charge and the official misconduct charge, both said the jury “could not reach a verdict.”
In a statement released through their attorneys, Glass’ parents, Sally and Simon, thanked jurors for their service and thanked the Fifth Judicial District Attorney’s Office for diligently pursuing the case. The statement did not comment on the verdict, but rather focused on Christian — “an artist, an amateur geologist, a cook, a friend, a brother to two sisters, and a treasured son.”
“He is dearly missed and should be alive today,” the statement read.
Glass’ fatal shooting in June 2022 became a tipping point in how law enforcement responds to calls involving mental health emergencies. Details of his death weren’t revealed until months later when his family’s attorney released body camera footage showing Glass making a heart with his hands toward the officers from inside his car before officers broke out the window, shot him six times with beanbag rounds, multiple times with a Taser and then five times with a gun.
Glass called 911 after he drove off a dirt road in the small mountain town of Silver Plume and said his car was stuck. Officers who responded asked him repeatedly to get out of the car, one telling him, “You don’t need to be terrified. We’re out here to try and help you and have a conversation,” according to body camera footage.
When Buen arrived at the scene, Glass said he was afraid to get out of his car and locked the doors.
Colorado State Patrol asked over the radio what the deputies’ plan was, before saying that if Glass was not suicidal, homicidal or posing danger there was no reason to contact him. Glass, who told officers he had a geology knife in the car, offered to throw it out of the window in front of the officers, but they said no, body camera footage shows.
The 70-minute standoff escalated as Buen and other officers broke one of the car windows. The officers shot Glass with beanbag rounds and shocked him with a stun gun before Buen fatally shot him.
Buen’s supervisor, Sgt. Kyle Gould, who was also fired from Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office, was charged with criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment. He was sentenced last November to two years of unsupervised probation after pleading guilty to two misdemeanors under a deal that threw out the more serious charges against him
Six other officers from different agencies that arrived on the scene, including Colorado State Patrol, were also charged for failure to intervene. Glass’ parents received a $19 million settlement in their son’s death, which is the largest police settlement for a police killing in Colorado.
In additional to the financial compensation, Clear Creek County agreed to dedicate a public park to Glass and to establish a crisis-response team. Glass’ parents will have the opportunity to speak with new Clear Creek sheriff’s patrol recruits. The state has already agreed to changes in its law enforcement training programs.
“The Glass family hopes that no other family will experience their grief and profound loss due to law enforcement behavior,” the statement from the family’s lawyers read.