Former Colorado deputy found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in shooting death of Christian Glass
A jury in Colorado on Thursday reached a verdict in the second trial for Andrew Buen, the former Clear Creek County deputy charged in the shooting death of 22-year-old Christian Glass.
Buen, 31, was facing a second-degree murder charge for his involvement in Glass' 2022 death but the jury convicted him on a lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide.
The conviction comes after Buen's first trial ended in a partial hung-jury.
Glass was in Clear Creek County in his car when he called 911 for help when his vehicle got stuck on the side of a dirt road. His family said he was having a mental health crisis when law enforcement officers from several different departments responded after the 22-year-old refused to leave his vehicle.
In the early morning hours of June 11, 2022, after several hours with Glass not cooperating with commands, Buen was the one who ended up firing the shots that killed Glass. Officers had broken a window in an attempt to get him out of his vehicle and Glass grabbed a knife he had inside. Deputies then tased him and he started swinging the knife before he was shot and killed.
Buen was fired from the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office. His sentencing hearing is set for April.
A civil case filed by Glass' family resulted in a $19 million settlement. After Thursday's conviction, Glass's father Simon and mother Sally spoke to reporters.
"I feel that we have to trust our police to serve and protect, as the prosecution said," said Glass's father Simon. "And when they don't, it needs to be heavy consequences."
The Clear County Sheriff's Office released the following statement following the verdict:
Today, February 20, 2025, a Clear Creek County jury found former patrol deputy Andrew Buen guilty of Criminally Negligent Homicide in the death of Christian Glass. The Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office respects the judicial process and appreciates the jury members for their time commitment and thoughtful deliberations to reach a unanimous decision.
The Sheriff's Office continues its efforts to ensure the events of June 10 – 11, 2022, will never happen again. Sheriff Matthew D. Harris explains, "We are working to rebuild trust and build community relationships by being accountable, transparent, and professional. We have restructured the leadership team, implemented policies and processes to align with law enforcement best practices, and established agency-wide training requirements and expectations. We also created and filled two additional patrol sergeant positions to help attain our goal of 24/7 direct supervision.
"I made a commitment to our community, to county commissioners, and most importantly, to the Glass family to change how the Sheriff's Office operates. Our sworn and civilian employees work hard to become a little bit better every day. Through their dedication and efforts to espouse our mission of 'Public Service First, Public Safety Always,' the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office will become the professional law enforcement agency our residents, staff, and the Glass family deserve."
