Christian Glass: 2 Colorado deputies fired and charged over shooting death of 22-year-old knife-wielding man who called 911 for help



CNN

Two Colorado deputies have been charged and fired following investigations into the Christian Glass was killed by police in Junea 22-year-old man who was armed with a knife and called 911 for roadside assistance, officials and family attorneys said.

A grand jury on Wednesday returned an indictment against Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Deputies Andrew Buen, 29, and Kyle Gould, 36, according to the office of Fifth Judicial District Attorney Heidi McCollum.

Buen is charged with second-degree murder, official misconduct and reckless endangerment, while Gould is charged with criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment, according to court records online.

The charges stem from the murder of Glass, who was shot in the early morning of June 11 – more than an hour after police arrived – and pronounced dead at the scene, according to the sheriff’s office. The autopsy report showed Glass’ injuries were fatal and included five gunshot wounds to the torso and one to the right arm.

The Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office received a “motorist assistance” call on June 10 at 11:21 p.m. for what appeared to be a car accident, the office said, but said its driver, Glass, ” immediately became argumentative and uncooperative with deputies, and armed himself with a knife.

Glass’s family disputed that characterization, saying in September that their son did not carry weapons and that the knives were rock tools used to carve rocks as an art form.

Bail for Buen was set at $50,000 and for Gould at $2,500. No attorney is listed for either, and both men are listed as being held at the Gilpin County Detention Center, according to online records.

CNN is working to get copies of the indictments.

As a result of the indictment, both deputies were fired, according to a statement from the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office.

The statement called the indictment “part of a painful but necessary process” and “political and procedural flaws” were found in an ongoing internal investigation parallel to the criminal investigation.

“While the investigation is still ongoing, preliminary findings show that there were breaches of policies and procedures, and the initial press release about the shooting, based on information available at the time of the incident , does not reflect the entirety of what happened on that terrible night,” the statement read.

A statement from Glass’s family lawyers said, “Nothing will bring Christian back to his family,” but noted they were relieved by the charges.

“However, justice for Christian will require everyone involved to be held accountable. Christian’s death is a stain on every officer who was present and failed to prevent the escalation and unnecessary use of force,” the statement read.

In the audio of the 911 call released by Glass’s family in September, he tells the dispatcher, “I have a gun on me. I’ll throw them out the window as soon as an officer arrives” and goes on to describe having two knives, a hammer and a rubber mallet.

Body camera video of the incident released by the family shows Glass offering to throw the guns out of the car and a responding officer telling him not to.

“In fact, he offered to throw his rock knives and tools out the window so they wouldn’t be bothered. But they told him no and he complied,” Glass’s mother, Sally Glass, said at a press conference in September.

In the body camera video, deputies can be heard responding to asking Glass to get out of the vehicle repeatedly.

An responding officer asks Glass if he had been on drugs, to which Glass responds “I smoked, I was…” before being distracted by an officer who places what the lawyers of the family said to be sticky tape behind his car, the video shows.

The autopsy report released by Glass family attorneys said Glass had both THC and amphetamine in his system.

Deputies managed to smash the car windows and remove one of the knives, but Glass rearmed himself with a rock and a second knife, according to the sheriff’s office. In the video, deputies can be heard repeatedly asking Glass to drop the knife.

Deputies deployed beanbags and a taser “with negative results” before Glass “finally tried to stab an officer,” according to the sheriff’s office.

Body camera video shows law enforcement then shot Glass with a stun gun before he could be seen writhing and then apparently thrusting a knife towards an officer before police fired multiple shots. fire. The video then shows Glass apparently stabbing himself.

Body camera video released by family attorneys has been edited to blur Glass’ body.

“The only thing we edited from the videos is after Christian was taken out of the car. We blur the screen where his body is on the ground and where medical treatment is given to his body. We have felt it was not appropriate to have Christian’s naked body out there in the world,” attorney Siddhartha Rathod said.

CNN requested an unedited copy of the body camera footage from the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office.

In a statement in September, Glass’ family and lawyers said he had an episode of mental health.

“There was no need to forcefully threaten him; draw guns; breaking the window of his car; shoot beanbag bullets at close range; afternoon tea; to shoot him down. From start to finish, the officers on scene acted in an unreasonable and inhumane manner,” Glass’ parents and attorneys said.

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