MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CRIME & JUSTICE

Christian Glass death: 2 Colorado deputies indicted for shooting 22-year old who had called 911 for help

The Glass family claims that during the confrontation with cops in June, Christian was going through a mental health crisis

CLEAR CREEK, COLORADO: Two Colorado deputies have been indicted and dismissed from duty following an investigation into the deadly police shooting of Christian Glass, a 22-year-old man, who was carrying a knife and had phoned 911 for roadside assistance, authorities and family lawyers said. According to the Fifth Judicial District Attorney Heidi McCollum's office, a grand jury on November 23 returned an indictment against Andrew Buen, 29, and Kyle Gould, a deputy with the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office.

Online court documents show that Gould is accused with criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment, while Buen is charged with 2nd degree murder, official misconduct, and reckless endangerment. The accusations are related to the death of Glass, who was shot early on June 11 — more than an hour after officers initially arrived — and was declared dead at the scene, per the sheriff's office. According to the autopsy report, Glass died as a result of five gunshot wounds to his torso and one to his right arm. The driver of the vehicle, Glass, "immediately became argumentative and uncooperative with the Deputies and had armed himself with a knife," according to the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office, which received a "motorist assist" call on June 10 at 11.21 pm after his car got stuck on a dirt road.

READ MORE

Hapless police appeals for PUBLIC HELP in solving brutal murder of University of Idaho students

How the police assault of Danny Lim, 78, ripped a nation apart

The family of Christian Glass has contested this assertion, claiming in September that their son didn't own any firearms and that the knives were actually rock tools for artistic rock carving as Glass was an amateur geologist. Bail was set at $50,000 for Buen and $2,500 for Gould. According to online records, neither man has a counsel listed, and both men are reportedly being detained in the Gilpin County Detention Facility. According to a statement from the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office, both deputies were terminated as a result of the indictment, CNN reports.

“While the investigation is still underway, preliminary findings show there were policy and procedural failures, and the initial news release about the shooting, based on the information available at the time of the incident, does not reflect the entirety of what happened on that terrible night,” the statement said. 

“Nothing will bring Christian back to his family,” according to a statement from his family lawyers, who expressed their relief after the now ex-police officers were charged. “However, justice for Christian will require all those involved being held accountable. Christian’s death is a stain on every officer who was present and failed to prevent the escalation and unnecessary uses of force,” the statement said.

In 911 call audio which was released by Glass’ family in September, he tells the dispatcher, “I have a weapon on me. I will throw them out the window as soon as an officer gets here” and continues to describe various weapons such as two knives, a hammer and a rubber mallet. Glass also offers to toss the firearms out of the car in the body camera footage of the incident that the family has made public. The responding officer tells him not to do so.

“He actually offered to throw his rock knives and his tools out of the window so they wouldn’t be worried. But they told him no and he obeyed,” Glass’ mother, Sally Glass, said at a news conference held in September. Responding deputies can be heard repeatedly requesting Glass to get out of the car in the body camera footage. Glass informed the police that he didn't feel secure exiting the vehicle while holding his hands up. He informed them he was terrified and wanted to stay in the car as he removed the keys from the ignition and placed them on the dashboard. No criminal activity was suspected of Glass. The Glass family claims that when cops first spoke with their son in June, he was going through a mental health crisis.