Jury finds former Clear Creek County deputy guilty of negligent homicide in Christian Glass killing
CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – On Thursday, a jury found a former Clear Creek County sheriff's deputy guilty of criminally negligent homicide for the 2022 shooting and killing of Christian Glass – a case that drew national attention to how police handle mental health crises.
Former deputy Andrew Buen now faces up to three years in prison—a significantly lighter sentence than he would have received if convicted of second-degree murder, one of the original charges filed against him.
Buen was originally charged with second-degree murder, official misconduct and reckless endangerment, but during his first trial in April 2024, a jury could not reach a verdict on the murder charge. Instead, Buen was found guilty of reckless endangerment, a Class 2 misdemeanor in Colorado.
The criminally negligent homicide conviction handed down Thursday means Buen could face up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. According to our Denver news partners, the judge ruled that Buen is not eligible for bail and will remain in the custody of the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office prior to his sentencing, set for April 14.
In 2022, 22-year-old Glass called 911 for help after his car got stuck in Silver Plume, a small Colorado mountain town along I-70. During the call, Glass showed signs of paranoia, told a dispatcher that he was being followed, and exhibited other signs of a mental health crisis.
According to CNN, deputies who responded to the scene, including Buen, engaged with Glass for over an hour as he refused to get out of his car, armed with a knife. Buen then broke the car window before deputies shot Glass with bean bag rounds and deployed a taser, but Glass still did not leave the vehicle.
The incident was captured on body camera footage and showed Glass offering to toss the knife from the vehicle before one of the deputies told him not to.
About an hour after deputies arrived, Buen shot Glass five times in the chest.
The case put a national spotlight on the way officers are trained respond to mental health crises and prompted calls for reforms – leading to Clear Creek County to establish a crisis response team and train its deputies in crisis intervention.
In May 2023, the Glass family was awarded $19 million in a settlement with multiple departments that were on scene that night, including Clear Creek County, the Colorado State Patrol, the Georgetown Police Department and the Idaho Springs Police Department.
The settlement marked the largest in state history for a death involving police.
Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.
