GEORGETOWN, Colo. — In a retrial, a jury found a former Clear Creek County deputy guilty of criminally negligent homicide in connection with the June 2022 death of Christian Glass.
The verdict for Andrew Buen came down on Thursday around 2:30 p.m., about 24 hours after the jury began deliberations on Wednesday afternoon.
Buen was first tried in April 2024, when that jury found him guilty of reckless endangerment, but was deadlocked on the charge of second-degree murder. Lawyers for the Glass family told Denver7 at the time that 11 of the 12 jurors believed Buen was guilty of second-degree murder, but they were unable to come to a unanimous decision because of the one juror. This led to his retrial, which began earlier this month.
The new jury, which just finished its deliberations, was tasked with deciding if Buen was within his legal rights as an officer when he used deadly force against Glass. While Buen had been charged with second-degree murder, the jury had the option to find him guilty of reckless manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide.
On Thursday afternoon, they returned with a unanimous verdict of guilty for criminally negligent homicide.
- Following the verdict, the parents of Christian Glass addressed the media. Hear from them in the video player below.
An internal affairs investigation that wrapped in 2023 determined that Buen did not act properly during the incident and failed to de-escalate the situation. The incident sparked outrage and resulted in a record-setting $19 million settlement paid to Glass’s family in May 2023.
This case began late in the evening of June 11, 2022, when Glass, 22, called 911 because his car became stuck in Silver Plume. He told dispatchers he had knives, a hammer and a mallet in the car, and believed he was being followed. His family has said he was experiencing a mental health episode that evening.
Law enforcement responded and tried to coax him out of the car because it seemed obvious he needed help, but Glass said he did not want to, the defense attorneys said. Prosecutors said he was terrified.
Law enforcement believed he intended to carry out a threat to kill everyone at the scene, the defense said in opening arguments. However, Glass stayed in his car. The officials eventually fired bean bag rounds at Glass and used a Taser on him before Buen shot the 22-year-old five times.
Defense attorneys argued 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 believed Mr. Glass was trying to stab Randy Williams, and Randy Williams was in imminent danger," the defense said. "From a very human standpoint, no amount of training can prepare them for this kind of stress, for this kind of trauma."
Prosecutors argued that Buen needlessly escalated the situation from the moment he arrived at the scene, and Glass did not pose a danger and was not suspected of committing any crimes. A grand jury found that Williams was never in “imminent danger of being stabbed by Mr. Glass.”
The jury came back on Thursday afternoon, where they found Buen guilty of criminally negligent homicide. His sentencing is scheduled for April 14.
Following the verdict, Buen's legal team issued a statement, saying, "Murder was never the appropriate charge in this case and we are grateful to all of the jurors for recognizing that. This case will have far-reaching implications for law enforcement throughout Colorado, but we respect the judicial system and we are so happy that we had such attentive and focused jurors there to listen to Andrew’s story."
The Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office also issued a statement, saying it "respects the judicial process and appreciates the jury members for their time commitment and thoughtful deliberations to reach a unanimous decision."
“We are working to rebuild trust and build community relationships by being accountable, transparent, and professional. We have restructured the leadership team, implemented policies and processes to align with law enforcement best practices, and established agency-wide training requirements and expectations. We also created and filled two additional patrol sergeant positions to help attain our goal of 24/7 direct supervision," said Sheriff Matthew D. Harris in a statement. “I made a commitment to our community, to county commissioners, and most importantly, to the Glass family to change how the Sheriff’s Office operates. Our sworn and civilian employees work hard to become a little bit better every day. Through their dedication and efforts to espouse our mission of ‘Public Service First, Public Safety Always,’ the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office will become the professional law enforcement agency our residents, staff, and the Glass family deserve.”
In May 2023, the Glass family reached a $19 million settlement with Clear Creek County, the State of Colorado, the Town of Georgetown, and the City of Idaho Springs. The settlement also contained a number of non-monetary measures, including:
- A public park dedicated to Christian Glass
- Virtual reality and training scenarios reflecting Glass’ death that will be implemented statewide
- De-escalation education for new recruits
Several other law enforcement officers were charged in connection with this case.
Former Clear Creek County deputy Kyle Gould pleaded guilty to ignoring his duty to report use of force and intervene in November 2023. Gould was sentenced to two years of probation and a $1,000 fine. He was also barred from working in law enforcement or security in Colorado. In exchange for his guilty plea, the charges of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment were dropped in the case.
Hearings are set for the four others accused:
- Idaho Springs Police Officer Brittany Morrow
- Georgetown Police Officer Timothy Collins
- Georgetown Marshal Randolph Williams
- Colorado State Trooper Ryan Bennie
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