After eight days of testimony and two-and-a-half days of deliberation, a Clear Creek County jury found former sheriff’s deputy Andrew Buen guilty of reckless endangerment in the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Christian Glass.
The jurors could not reach a consensus regarding the second-degree murder and official misconduct charges, they told the judge at 4:30 p.m. April 26.
While the jurors were dismissed in the case, the remaining parties will reconvene at 3:30 p.m. April 29 at the Clear Creek Courthouse to discuss next steps in the case and schedule Buen’s sentencing for the reckless endangerment conviction. The offense is a Class 2 misdemeanor punishable by up to 120 days in jail and/or up to $750 in fines.
Overnight June 10-11, 2022, Christian Glass called 911 for help, saying he was trapped in his car. When officers arrived, they asked him to leave his vehicle and he refused in what turned into a long standoff that ended when officers broke his car window and used a Taser on him. Buen then shot him five times, killing him, according to an indictment.
After the verdict, District Attorney Heidi McCollum wasn’t sure whether her office will request a retrial for the second-degree murder and official misconduct charges. She said to expect more information when proceedings resume April 29.
Christian’s parents, Simon and Sally Glass, described how they were still processing the jury’s decision, or lack thereof.
“I wasn’t prepared for it,” Sally Glass said. “I just kind of thought it would be guilty or not guilty. I was absolutely not prepared for … a hung jury on two of the charges.”
Simon Glass added: “It didn’t seem like a difficult decision, for me. (The hung jury)’s made it harder.”
The two were hopeful that Buen “would face justice,” even if it takes a few more weeks. They said they were taking each day as it comes, and weren’t thinking about the possibility of a second trial.
They thanked the jurors for their deliberation, describing how they took thorough notes and rewatched the June 2022 body-worn camera videos several times.
“My heart went out to them,” Sally Glass said of the jurors. “… They were very conscientious and diligent throughout the trial.”
‘I think people want justice’
McCollum thanked Georgetown and Clear Creek County’s support for Sally and Simon Glass and welcoming them over the last two weeks. She remarked that, with the hung jury, the case remains in limbo not just for the Glass family but for the entire community.
“The tenor of law enforcement in Clear Creek County has been tainted with this case, and I don’t know how long it’s going to take for that taint to be lifted,” McCollum continued. “It could be a year, could be a decade. … I feel for my community. I wish this never happened in my community.”
The Glass family noted the change in law enforcement’s leadership and attitude over the last two years. Along with the county’s crisis response team and law enforcement’s training in de-escalation and intervention, Simon Glass said it was “a new beginning” for the entire Clear Creek community.
“I think people want justice,” he continued. “They don’t want this to happen again to another kid. … I see that as a positive, even though it might be another few months before we get full justice here.”
The April trial
Throughout the eight-day trial, a jury of Clear Creek County residents heard testimony from a range of witnesses for both the prosecution and defense. Jurors also repeatedly watched three separate videos from the body-worn cameras of law enforcement officers on-scene that night.
“Everything (Buen) did that night was to get Christian out of the car and, ladies and gentlemen, he did it. He got him out,” McCollum said during closing arguments.
“When you watch the bodycam footage, I want you to listen to what Deputy (Tim) Collins on the hood of the car says after Buen shot his nine-millimeter handgun five times,” McCollum told jurors during closing arguments. “He said, ‘Oh God, what did we just do?’”
Buen’s defense attorneys maintained that Glass was intoxicated or “high” the night he refused to leave his stranded vehicle.
Referring to body-worn camera video from the night Glass was killed, Buen’s lead defense attorney, Carrie Slinkard, said Glass’s eyes appeared dilated in a manner “consistent with drug use.”
“Instead of complying, he (Glass) armed himself with a knife and police responded with the realized consequences they had been warning him about multiple times over and over as he assumed a violent posture, (and) prepared to attack anyone who makes entry into that car illegally,” Slinkard said in court.
Buen chose not to testify during the trial.
The jury began deliberating around noon April 24, and continued all day April 25. At 3 p.m. April 26, the judge gave the jurors additional instructions and said they could continue deliberating if need be.
However, they returned about an hour later with the reckless endangerment conviction, but said they’d been unable to reach a consensus on the second-degree murder or official misconduct charges.
This story may be updated if new information arises.