A court ruled Monday that the shooting was motivated by power and sentenced a former Colorado sheriff’s deputy convicted of killing a 22-year-old man in distress who called 911 for assistance to three years in prison, the maximum penalty.
When Andrew Buen was found guilty in February of criminally negligent murder in connection with Christian Glass’s death in 2022, it garnered national attention and sparked calls to change the way law enforcement handles individuals with mental health issues.
In the vicinity of Silver Plume, a small, former mining town along Interstate 70 in the Rocky Mountains west of Denver, prosecutors claimed that Buen unnecessarily intensified a confrontation with Glass, who displayed symptoms of a mental health crisis and disobeyed orders to exit his SUV.
In a $19 million settlement, his parents and the agencies involved agreed to provide crisis intervention training to cops who assist those in need.
According to Judge Catherine Cheroutes, Buen’s sentence had to take into account both Glass’s loss and the harm the gunshot caused to the neighbourhood.
“I think this was about power. It wasn’t a mistake. It was about, ‘you need to listen to me because I’m in charge,” she explained. She said she thought Buen’s family and fans were telling the truth when they stated he was a “shirt-off-your-back kind of guy,” but that when he wore a uniform and carried a gun, he behaved differently.
Speaking from a podium, Buen, dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit, apologised to the Glass family while using his shackled hands to dab at his eyes with a tissue.
Glass’s family had questioned whether Buen would truly feel regret for his actions.
They have every right to feel the way they do, Buen continued, his voice trembling. He informed the judge that he wasn’t “owed” anything and claimed that his actions had intensified the stalemate.
Prior to his sentencing, he stated, “There are a million things I should have done better that night.”
Sally Glass, a kind and creative artist who was born in his father’s home country of New Zealand, told Cheroutes that Buen had behaved like a “bully” towards her kid.
“He met evil that night and there was no compassion,” she remarked.
According to Simon Glass, the sheriff’s office eventually apologised for originally portraying his son as the aggressor during the standoff, which initially added to his family’s suffering.
He stated he suffers from anxiety and finds it difficult to use the past tense when speaking of his son, but he finds solace in the fact that his name has been cleared, thanks in part to body cam evidence.
According to Katie Glass, in order to prevent being stopped by the police, she and her mother always attempt to go below the speed limit. I regret watching the body camera footage of my older brother’s last moments, she stated.
“He died terrified, in pain and all alone. That is what hurts me the most,” she remarked.
After a second trial, Buen, a former Clear Creek County officer, was found guilty.
He was found guilty of a misdemeanour by a different jury about a year ago for carelessly endangering other police by firing. On a charge of official misconduct or murder, however, jurors were unable to reach a consensus.
Prosecutors chose to retry Buen on a second-degree murder charge with the help of Glass’ family.
Additionally, jurors may have found him guilty of the less serious allegation of criminally negligent murder.
According to the defence, Buen had the right to shoot Glass since he was carrying a weapon and he was defending a fellow officer.
Glass informed a 911 dispatcher that he was being followed when his SUV became stuck. According to Buen’s indictment, he allegedly made other claims that implied he was having a mental health crisis and was paranoid, hallucinating, or delusional.
Glass resisted getting out when Buen and the other cops showed up. He was seen creating heart shapes with his hands while interacting with the officers on video captured by their body cams.
Even after the cops stunned Glass with a Taser and fired bean bag rounds, he refused to get out of the vehicle.
According to the indictment, he then threw a knife he had volunteered to surrender at the start of the encounter towards an officer out a rear glass that had been damaged by a bean bag.
Buen shot him five times at that moment.
“Lord, hear me, Lord, hear me,” Just prior to being shot, Glass was heard stating
Source: NBC News
