GEORGETOWN, Colo. — A jury began their deliberations Wednesday afternoon in the retrial of a former Clear Creek County sheriff's deputy accused in the June 2022 death of Christian Glass.
During Andrew Buen's first trial in April 2024, the jury deadlocked on the charge of second-degree murder but convicted him of reckless endangerment. Lawyers for the Glass family told Denver7 that 11 of the 12 jurors found Buen guilty of second-degree murder within the first hours of deliberations. The jury foreperson called the deliberations "frustrating," saying they ultimately could not reach a decision because of one juror.
This new jury must decide if Buen was within his legal right as a peace officer to use deadly force that night. If they do not agree on second-degree murder, they can find him guilty of either reckless manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide.
Crime
Retrial of former deputy who fatally shot Christian Glass begins
Glass, 22, called 911 for help when his car was stuck in Silver Plume on June 11, 2022. Attorneys for the Glass family said he was experiencing a mental health episode when police arrived.
In a recording of the 911 call, Glass told dispatchers he had knives, a hammer, and a mallet in his car. Attorneys claim the tools were related to his work as an amateur geologist.
"This case is about a scared 22-year-old boy who gets stuck in a small town in Clear Creek County and simply doesn't want to get out of his car," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Potts during his closing argument Wednesday. "This case is ultimately about a failure. And the failure perpetrated here was by Andrew Buen. He failed Christian Glass. He failed Christian Glass because Christian Glass was a boy in distress."
When law enforcement responded, body-worn cameras captured Glass offering to throw the knives outside of the car, but Buen told him not to do that. Prosecutors argue Buen was aggressive and intimidating in his interactions with Glass, especially for a call that was essentially a motorist assist.
"This is a case of shoot first, ask questions later," prosecutors told the jury.
Over the course of an hour, officers attempted to get Glass to leave his car. Law enforcement eventually fired bean bag rounds and a Taser before Buen shot Glass five times.
Prosecutors argued that by law, an individual is allowed to practice self-defense when they reasonably believe an officer is about to use excessive force.
Defense attorneys asserted that Glass was not in a reasonable frame of mind to make such a decision and claimed that Buen only fired his weapon after Glass swung a knife out of the car's back window near where Georgetown Marshal Randy Williams was standing.
"Andrew Buen's heart breaks every day for Christian Glass' family," defense attorney Mallory Revel said to begin her closing arguments. "He lives every moment wishing that night didn't end how it did."
According to Buen's defense team, he did everything he could that night to achieve a better outcome.
"[Buen] had other people turn their lights and sirens off so they wouldn't agitate Christian more," Revel said. "He asks 911 to do a reverse call and call Christian back so he can try to find his phone because they were trying to call someone for him."
Revel argued that Buen perceived Glass as a threat when he "thrust" the knife out the window and warned the jury about how hindsight could impact this case.
"Andrew believed Mr. Glass was trying to stab Randy Williams, and Randy Williams was in imminent danger," Revel said. "From a very human standpoint, no amount of training can prepare them for this kind of stress, for this kind of trauma."
Some of the last words the jury heard before heading into deliberations were from the prosecution during their rebuttal.
"Don't fail Christian again," Potts said.
An internal affairs investigation determined that Buen did not act properly during the incident and failed to de-escalate the situation.
The jury left without reaching a verdict Wednesday. They will resume their deliberations first thing on Thursday morning.
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