Man killed by police after calling 911 because his car wasn't working
Christian Glass was fatally shot by a deputy sheriff after calling 911 for help with his car.
On 10 June, 2022 at around 11:21pm, Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call from 22-year-old chef and artist Christian Glass, who said his car had 'got stuck in a really bad way' in Silver Plume, Colorado in the US.
During the call, Christian told officials he had two knives, a hammer and a rubber mallet located in his car.
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In order to make sure officials felt safe, he offered to throw them out of his car when they arrived. However, a police statement from the incident reported when officials arrived at the scene, Christian 'immediately became argumentative and uncooperative'.
Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office reported a tense hour-long situation unfolded, in which Christian was thrown 'lees-lethal bean bags' at and tasered.
The office claimed Christian 'eventually tried to stab an officer and was shot' - by Deputy Sheriff Andrew Buen - the young man 'pronounced deceased at the scene'.
The autopsy report into Christian's death said he received five gunshot wounds to the chest and one to his right arm, with the coroner ruling that his death was a homicide caused by the gunshot wounds.
However, lawyers representing the Glass family allege that 'from beginning to end, the officers escalated and proactively initiated force'.
In a statement, they claimed there was 'no need' for the officers to threaten Christian or use force, arguing that 'the officers on the scene acted unconscionably and inhumanely'.
Bodycam footage from the officers shared by the Glass family lawyers shows them at Christian's car for more than an hour as he asks them to pull him out of his predicament.
Christian could be seen on camera praying for them not to break his windows, and at other times footage from the shooting shows Christian repeatedly making the heart sign at officers on the scene.The footage later shows Christian being shot multiple times and his body being removed from the car.
The office of district attorney Heidi McCollum released a statement on the investigation into Christian's death saying they were 'working diligently to thoroughly review the evidence in this case'.The statement also said it was 'not in the interests of justice and fairness' to rush proceedings and get to a quick resolution.
Clear Creek Sheriff's Sgt. Kyle Gould and Deputy Buen were both later fired from Clear Creek County; Buen charged with official misconduct, reckless endangerment and second-degree murder.
In November 2023, Goud pleaded guilty to charges of duty to report the use of force and duty to intervene. He was ordered to serve two years of unsupervised probation and pay a $1,000 fine. He also agreed he'll never be allowed to serve as a protection or police officer in Colorado ever again.
Earlier this year, Buen was found guilty of reckless endangerment in Christian's death, but the jury couldn't reach a unanimous vote on the charge of official misconduct or the charge of second-degree murder.
Christian's dad, Simon said, as quoted by The Independent: "There’s a new sheriff; there’s a new beginning. Clear Creek County should be pleased to see the change and that there’s a different attitude here. So I see that as a positive, even though it might be another few months before we get full justice here."
UNILAD contacted Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office for comment.
Joe Harker