2 Colorado sheriff's deputies fired after shooting death, Thanksgiving eve indictment
Nov. 24—A Clear Creek County grand jury Wednesday indicted sheriff's deputies Andrew Buen and Kyle Gould in connection with the shooting death of 22-year-old Christian Glass, 5th Judicial District Attorney Heidi McCollum announced in a late Wednesday news release.
Buen was charged with second-degree murder, official misconduct and reckless endangerment. Gould's charges were criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment. Bond for Buen was set for $50,000 and $25,000 for Gould.
The two deputies have been fired, the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office announced in a Facebook post late Wednesday.
Glass' family expressed relief charges were brought and firings happened in the aftermath of their son's death, but said it's not enough.
"Justice for Christian will require all those involved being held accountable," according to the family's statement. "Christian's death is a stain on every officer who was present and failed to prevent the escalation and unnecessary uses of force."
Sheriff's officials called the indictment "painful but necessary."
"The shooting death of Christian Glass continues to be a devastating event for Christian's family, friends, the Clear Creek County community, and the Sheriff's Office," it said.
McCollum empaneled the grand jury last month. In a news release at the time, she said that the panel would meet multiple times during the month of November and that she is "absolutely committed to seeking justice in this case."
Elbers requested an internal investigation and that query was done by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office while the grand jury was empaneled. That investigation is ongoing, the sheriff's office said, but initial findings found there were "policy and procedural failures."
The sheriff's office went on to say that its first news release about the shooting "does not reflect the entirety of what happened on that terrible night."
Glass was killed on June 11 after his SUV got stuck on the side of a dirt road near Silverplume and he called 911 for help. Deputies allegedly shot him while Glass apparently experienced a mental health crisis. A video released later showed him expressing unusual behavior and in fear in a standoff that lasted more than an hour.
The footage shows Glass refusing to come out of his car, while also telling the police he's "terrified" and making heart shapes with his hands to the officers.
He can also be seen praying and saying: "Dear Lord, please don't let them break the window."
When officers did break the window, Glass appeared to panic and grabbed a knife. That's when police shot him with bean bag rounds and shocked him with a stun gun before he twisted in his seat and thrust a knife toward an officer, the video showed.
