Former Colorado Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Buen could still serve no prison time for the killing of the 22-year-old New Zealander, who called 911 for help.
Former Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Buen has been found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of New Zealand man Christian Glass almost three years ago.
He had faced several other charges, including second-degree murder and criminally negligent homicide, but after almost a full day of deliberations, the jury returned a guilty verdict to only the lesser charge.
The offence carries a penalty of up to three years in prison, but as Buen is eligible for parole, it’s possible he could serve no prison time. Had he been found guilty of second-degree murder, he could have served up to 48 years.
The verdict means he will never again work in law enforcement.
The charges arose from an incident in 2022, when a car being driven by 22-year-old Christian Glass, at that time living in Boulder, became stuck on the road. He called 911 for help, and Guen was one of the officers from multiple agencies who attended.
When they arrived, they asked Glass to exit his car. He refused, and a 70-minute stand-off ensued.
Body-camera footage showed Glass sometimes making heart signs with his hands to the officers, and prosecutors alleged throughout the trial that he was going through a mental crisis, was never a danger to anyone, and had committed no crime.
However, Glass did admit to officers that he had smoked cannabis before their arrival—something that is legal in Colorado for anyone aged over 21. He was also in possession of a knife.
Eventually, one officer shattered the car’s passenger window with his baton while others fired beanbag rounds and tasers. Buen shot five rounds from his gun, all of which struck Glass as he sat in his car, killing him.
Buen’s defence attorneys alleged Glass tried to swipe at a Marshal with the knife. They said that Buen shot Glass because he thought the Marshal was in imminent danger.
“Andrew [Buen] believed Mr. Glass was trying to stab [the Marshal] and [he] was in imminent danger,” defence lawyer Mallory Revel said during her closing argument.
“Why else would Andrew have shot? What motive does he have? He doesn’t know Christian. He had just spent over an hour trying to get Christian help. There’s no motive,” she said.
But Prosecutor Joe Kirwan emphasised that the tragedy had started with a call for help.
“He [Glass] was stuck. He couldn’t go any further,” he said.
“What’s the first thing you would expect the officers would do when they arrived on scene? What would be the first thing you would expect the officers to ask you? ‘What happened? How did you get in this spot?’ This defendant never asked that question.”Glass’s parents, Simon and Sally Glass, told Colorado outlet CPR News that they were relieved by the verdict.
“He’s in handcuffs. He’s being walked away in handcuffs, and he’s finally going to be in jail, which is where he needs to be,” Sally Glass said.
“I think there’s four more officers facing charges and their cases will go ahead now because they were waiting for this. He’s the one that we really wanted to go to prison because of what he did. If he hadn’t been there Christian would be alive, I don’t think any of the other officers would have done what Buen did.”
Buen will be sentenced on April 14.
Another officer involved in the incident, former sergeant Kyle Gould, last year pleaded guilty to charges of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment relating to the death.
He was fined nearly US$1,000 (NZ$1,700) and given two years probation.
Glass’s death resulted in his family receiving a $19 million settlement—the largest known law enforcement settlement in Colorado history. They said they had established a fund to give the money to charity.
“It’s blood money,” Sally Glass said. “We don’t want it.”
Buen was tried and convicted of reckless endangerment in April last year, but the jury couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict on murder and official misconduct charges.
It was discovered later that one juror from the trial refused to convict him of murder, although the other 11 had agreed to do so.