Photo collage of Christian Glass. See Alt text for more.
When Christian Glass called Police For Help, They Shot Him Six Times:
CONTENT WARNING: The details and videos of this event may be disturbing to some.
June 10, 2022: Christian Glass, from Boulder Colorado, called 911 after his car went off the road near the town of Silver Plume in Clear Creek County, He found himself stranded in the Rocky Mountains, sometime after 11 PM. He nervously told the operator he was very afraid, “coming off of a depression” and said, “I will not be fine on my own”. He continued, “If I got out of the car, I might be in danger”, also telling the operator about some amateur geology tools he had, which included, a hammer, rubber mallet and two knives.
He continued, saying, “I’m not dangerous. I will keep my hands completely visible” and offered to throw the tools out of the car when police arrived. It sounds like Christian Glass was afraid of interacting with law enforcement, and based on some of his other statements to the operator, may have been experiencing a mental health situation. Despite all of the information provided by Christian in the 25 minute call, the 911 operator told police he was “very paranoid”, “not making much sense”, and had “weapons”.
When police arrived, he again offered to throw the tools out of the window, but was told not to do so. Clear Creek Deputy Andrew Buen and his patrol partner, Timothy Collins, were the first on the scene. The officers commanded him to get out of the vehicle but, Christian was afraid to, telling them “I’m scared… I’m really scared”. He then asked officers, “are you going to shoot me if… [inaudible]?” As officers continued to tell him to get out, Christian asked, if he could “hang out” in the vehicle until paramedics arrived.
At gunpoint, he told the officers, “You’re not communicating clearly with me. I don’t understand what’s going on.” The officer mentioned the knives, and Christian offered to throw them out the window again. On the body cam video, what sounds like the spinning of tires can be heard, as Christian repeated, “I can’t go”, seemingly demonstrating that the vehicle was stuck. The deputies immediately became more aggressive, instructed him to remove the keys from the ignition, and deployed stop sticks behind his already immobilized vehicle.
The two officers would soon be joined by others from the Idaho Springs PD, Colorado State patrol and Georgetown police. With Christian’s doors locked, still afraid to exit the vehicle, one officer wielding a firearm asked him why he would not get out. Christian replied, “Sir, I’m terrified”. Multiple officers were pointing their weapons at him, which would likely have that effect on anyone. Christian’s tone in each of his responses was fearful sounding and soft-spoken, not in any way aggressive. Remember, this was a stranded “motorist in distress call”, which usually does not require an army. The 911 operator’s depiction of the call, may have contributed to the militant reaction by police.
The gang of officers attempted to get Christian Glass out of the car for approximately 70 minutes, during which he made a heart with his hands, blew kisses and prayed. According to reports, for the majority of the hour, the scene was calm, with many of the officers standing around and casually chatting and joking. This is certainly not the behavior of someone that felt this fearful, stranded motorist was a threat. Deputy Buen continued to be aggressive, and ultimately, Clear Creek Sheriff’s Sgt. Kyle Gould, authorized the officers to “extract” Christian from his vehicle. At least one report cited something about the mention of wasting man-hours.
At this point in the interaction, it should have been obvious, Christian was likely having a mental health episode. One of the deputies shattered the window and Christian was shot with beanbags. He began to flail in the driver seat when one of the officers yelled, “SOMEONE TASE HIS ASS”. Deputy Buen blasted Christian Glass with his stun gun, and he began screaming hysterically, “Lord hear me”, pleading for mercy from the officers. On the body cam video, someone can be heard saying, “you can still save yourself”.
It was not until this point in the incident, after an hour at gunpoint, that Christian was no longer soft-spoken and calm. The look of terror in his eyes is tormenting to see. Seven officers surrounding him, one standing on the hood of his car, were all shouting and pointing their firearms at him. Christian glass began to shout in terror, panic, and finally, act erratically. Who would not, especially someone with an invisible disability, or that was experiencing a mental health crisis.
The hour-long mental battering, and being shouted at instead of listened to, could be likened to; the invisible disability equivalent of kicking someone’s crutches from beneath them, kicking them every time they tried to get up, and still expecting them to walk. Christian Glass, could likely no longer process thoughts correctly. I’d imagine, in his mind, he believed he was about to die.
When Christian turned back towards another deputy holding his door closed, Andrew Buen shot the 22-year-old motorist, firing at least five bullets. One of the officers, presumably Buen, then said, “… he went for you Williams…Right?”. Deputy Tim Collins, the shooter’s partner, was captured on body cam audio saying, “My God what have we done?”. The lifeless body of Christian was dragged out of the vehicle, and he was pronounced dead on the scene.
In a statement the following day, the Clear Creek sheriff’s department called Mr. Glass “the suspect”, described him as “argumentative and uncooperative”, and accused him of attempting to stab an officer. They also cited the potential of DUI. The coroner ruled it a homicide with the cause of death being multiple gunshot wounds. Reports suggest that Christian Glass feared police so much, that after he was tasered, he tried to stab himself.
Deputy Andrew Buen and his supervisor, Sgt. Kyle Gould, were subsequently charged for killing Christian. Buen with second-degree murder, official misconduct, and reckless endangerment, and Gould for reckless endangerment and criminally negligent homicide. Sgt. Gould gave the order to forcibly remove Christian Glass from his vehicle. Buen was released on $50,000 bail, while his superior was released on only $2500. The initial proceedings began in December 2022. Interestingly enough, Deputy Buen had already been accused of excessive force in an unrelated $407,000 lawsuit.
Along with Sgt. Kyle Gould, officers on the scene that were charged with “duty to intervene”, for failing to save Christian’s life were: Brittany Morrow, Christa Lloyd, Randy Williams, Mary Harris, and the shooter’s partner, Timothy Collins. All were terminated, but some of already been hired by other law enforcement agencies. Colorado State Trooper Ryan Bennie also faced the same charge.
Randy Williams, the deputy that held Christian’s door closed while Andrew Buen pumped him full of bullets, is currently working as a Georgetown Marshall. Kyle Gould, the sergeant who authorized Andrew Buen to “extract” Christian from his vehicle, pled guilty to his “duty to intervene” charge, in November 2023. He was fired and required to give up his law enforcement license as part of the plea deal. Out of the possible 364 days incarcerated and/or a $1000 fine, he was sentenced to two years probation.
In the case of the primary aggressor and trigger man, Andrew Buen, the prosecuting attorney seemed to understand why so many with invisible disabilities, or MH challenges, fear interactions with aggressive law enforcement. In her closing arguments, Heidi McCollum,5th Judicial District Attorney, highlighted one concern of many with IDs: “So Christian has to be thinking to himself… I did exactly what they told me. I didn’t touch the knife, and now they’re pointing guns at me. I did what they told me to do… No wonder he didn’t trust them. No wonder he was scared”.
Eleven of the twelve jurors, were in favor of a guilty verdict for second-degree murder, but ultimately, Buen was not convicted. He also skirted the charge of “official misconduct”, only being convicted of reckless endangerment. That charge is a a class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 120 days in jail, a $750 fine, or both. Another travesty of justice, involving another murder of an innocent person with a disability of the mind. Uncharacteristically, I have no further comment about the verdict, but would love to read some of your opinions below.
The murder of Christian Glass, who was born in New Zealand, and is also a citizen of the UK, made international headlines. The governments of both countries have asked for answers about this case. In May, 2023, the parents of Christian Glass were awarded the largest known police settlement in the history of Colorado and, as a part of the ruling, Clear Creek County was ordered to have a properly trained crisis response team by the year 2025. Christian’s mom was also allowed to address, and educate law enforcement officers. Because none of the swarm of officers tried to stop this murder, fueled by ignorance and aggression, the $19 million settlement was divided amongst all agencies involved as follows:
- Clear Creek County responsible for $10 million.
- Georgetown responsible for $5 million.
- State of Colorado responsible for $3 million for the Colorado State Patrol officer and two Division of Gaming investigators that stood by and watched.
- Idaho Springs, a department that has victimized others with disabilities, responsible for $1 million.
The historic settlement sends a message, but unfortunately, it won’t bring Christian back. Their ignorance of proper accommodation for people with invisible disabilities, was painfully obvious in police body cam footage. These “public servants” disregarded the distressed motorist part of the call, and rolled in with “suspect weapon” on the brain, and weapons drawn. The “knifes” Christian Glass had, were part of his geology tool kit. I also have knifes that I use to spread butter on my toast. They never asked him what the hammer and knives were for. It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s Elijah McClain with autism, Ethan Saylor with Down syndrome, or Christian Glass, when law enforcement kills one of us, there’s usually little recompense, and even less justice.
Original story by OutOfExile_IDR posted Sep 21, 2023
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