Christian Glass: Clear Creek County deputies failed to de-escalate in shooting

Clear Creek County deputies needlessly rushed, failed to de-escalate in shooting of Boulder man who called for help, experts say
Sheriff’s Office lists de-escalation techniques — many of which were not followed in the arrest of Christian Glass
By Elise Schmelzer | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | The Denver Post
PUBLISHED: September 20, 2022

Officers and deputies in Clear Creek County failed to de-escalate an interaction with a 22-year-old Boulder man who called for help after crashing his car and they needlessly rushed the incident that ended with a deputy fatally shooting the driver as he sat in his car, experts in mental health and police tactics told The Denver Post.

The law enforcement officers made mistakes and missed opportunities to create a better outcome at nearly every stage of their deadly encounter with Christian Glass, according to experts who reviewed video footage of the June incident.

The first Clear Creek County sheriff’s deputies on scene acted with needless aggression, the group failed to pursue alternative communication options when they couldn’t get Glass to step out of his car, and they created a violent encounter when they broke one of the car’s windows while failing to maintain a safe distance, they said.

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Christian Glass case heads to a grand jury
By Alejandro A. Alonso Galva and Allison Sherry, CPR · Oct. 26, 2022

The investigation into the sheriff's deputy shooting death of a 22-year-old Boulder man earlier this year will be sent to a county grand jury, the lead prosecutor in Clear Creek County announced Wednesday.

“When a peace officer shoots and wounds or kills another in Colorado, there are specific protocols to investigate and review such matters,” said Heidi McCollum, the Clear Creek County District Attorney. “It is imperative that we reach the right decision and not rush into judgment — in fairness to the family of the victim, and those involved with and impacted by Christian’s death.”

The jury was selected Tuesday and will meet multiple times in November. Glass was killed in June. In these last few months, McCollum has said she was waiting on investigatory documents from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

Statement From the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office
November 23, 2022

Termination of Deputies following criminal indictment

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 (CCSO). Today's decision by a Grand Jury to indict Mr. Andrew Buen and Mr. Kyle Gould, follows months of a painstaking investigation by a team of dedicated investigators and careful consideration by members of our community empaneled to serve on a Grand Jury.

The indictment is part of a painful but necessary process. From the beginning, CCSO pledged full cooperation with the criminal investigation. This is an ongoing commitment, continuing with the next phase of the criminal justice process.

While the criminal investigation was taking place, Sheriff Rick Albers requested, and Douglas County Sheriff's Office accepted the offer to conduct an internal investigation to ensure transparency and accountability. While the investigation is still underway, preliminary findings show there were policy and procedural failures, and the initial news release about the shooting, based on the information available at the time of the incident, does not reflect the entirety of what happened on that terrible night. The internal investigation will continue.

As a result of today's indictment, the Sheriff terminated the employment of Mr. Andrew Buen and Mr. Kyle Gould with the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff reaffirms his commitment to make any necessary changes to try and prevent a terrible situation like this from happening in the future, increase public trust in the CCSO, and continue to look for every opportunity to improve.

-END-


Edit to add:
Clear Creek County deputies involved in fatal shooting are indicted, fired after grand jury investigation
Christian Glass, 22, was fatally shot through the windshield of his car after he ran off the road near Silver Plume and called 911 for help.
Jennifer Brown 9:33 PM MST on Nov 23, 2022

The terminations of officers Andrew Buen and Kyle Gould came the same day they were indicted by a grand jury in what the sheriff’s office called a “painful but necessary process.” 

Buen was indicted on charges of second-degree murder, official misconduct and reckless endangerment. Gould was indicted on charges of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment.

Christian Glass was shot to death inside his car June 11 after he became stranded in the small mountain town of Silver Plume and called for roadside assistance. Officers broke out his window, shot him six times with bean bag rounds, used a Taser multiple times and then shot him five times, according to his family’s attorney.

Internal investigation determines Clear Creek County Sheriff's deputy did not act properly during shooting
By: Joe Vaccarelli, Denver 7
Posted at 6:02 PM, Jan 04, 2023

DENVER — An internal affairs investigation into the officer-involved shooting in Clear Creek County that killed 22-year-old Christian Glass last summer determined that the firing deputy did not act properly during the incident and failed to de-escalate the situation.

The investigation was conducted by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office at the request of Clear Creek Sheriff Rick Albers.

“By a preponderance of the evidence, Deputy (Andrew) Buen was not within (Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office) policy and procedure when he used deadly physical force,” the report read.

Judge says deputy 'intentionally and maliciously' caused death of Christian Glass, won't dismiss indictment
Author: Janet Oravetz (9News)
Published: 2:15 PM MDT April 12, 2023

CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, Colo. — A Clear Creek County District judge refused on Friday to dismiss the indictment of two now former deputies who are charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Christian Glass last June.

A grand jury indicted former Deputies Andrew Buen and Kyle Gould in the June 11 death of Glass, a Boulder resident who called 911 when he got his car stuck on a mountain road in Silver Plume.

Buen faces charges of second-degree murder and two misdemeanor charges of official misconduct and reckless endangerment. Gould, who was not on the scene of the shooting, faces charges of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment.

The Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office fired both deputies.

Press Release from Clear Creek County Commissioners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, June 6th, 2023

CONTACT: Megan Hiler, Public Information Officer
Cell: 970-409-2784
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CLEAR CREEK COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS STATEMENT REGARDING THE KILLING OF CHRISTIAN GLASS

Media Partners,

The Clear Creek County Board of County Commissioners completely supports the Glass Family’s efforts to ensure that events such as the killing of Christian will never be repeated. The Board has always supported law enforcement and greatly appreciates the commitment of Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office deputies and staff.

The Board does not believe that the Sheriff has adequately accepted responsibility for his central role in this tragedy or the need to swiftly correct all of the gaps in training and protocols that existed at the time of Christian’s death. The Board embraces its responsibility to do all it can, within its authority, to accomplish reforms that enable the Sheriff to better focus on his core mission of public safety and justice.

The County’s Emergency Medical Services and Human Services Divisions were directed to research and implement a mental health crisis co-responder program. The pilot for this program will launch this summer with grant funds and staffing secured by the Board.

We are also pursuing a partnership with a regional communications center that already has extensive experience with co-responder programs, training, and protocols in place to effectively differentiate between mental health crises and public safety concerns.

We understand that no amount of money can bring Christian back or ease his family's pain. Christian’s killing should never have happened, and the Board is unanimously committed to doing its part to ensure that a reprehensible act like this is prevented from ever happening again.

Please find attached a statement from Sally and Simon Glass regarding the Clear Creek County Board of Commissioners’ statement regarding the murder of Christian Glass, which is also attached. Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions.

2701 LAWRENCE ST , SUITE 100. DENVER , CO 80205 303.578.4400 (t) 303.578.4401 (f) www.RMLawyers.com

June 6, 2023

For Immediate Release:

Sally and Simon Glass applaud the Clear Creek County Board of County Commissioners’ commitment to ensuring that the senseless and preventable use of force that resulted in the tragic murder of their son, Christian, never happens again.

Sheriff Albers' refusal to accept any personal responsibility for this unjustifiable loss of life demonstrates a lack of leadership and a disregard for the trust placed in him by the community. Sally and Simon Glass join the Board in condemning Sheriff Albers' conduct and call for his resignation.

By resigning, Sheriff Albers can begin to acknowledge and take responsibility for the failures that occurred under his watch. Only then can we begin to rebuild the shattered trust between law enforcement and the community they are sworn to protect.

Contacts:
Siddhartha Rathod (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Qusair Mohamedbhai (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Matthew Cron (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Felipe Bohnet-Gomez (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Virginia Butler (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
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