A former Colorado sheriff’s deputy was convicted of criminally negligent homicide Thursday in the shooting death of a 22-year-old man in distress who called 911 for help after his car got stuck in a small mountain community. Jurors stopped short of finding former Clear Creek County Deputy Andrew Buen guilty of the more serious charge of second-degree murder in the June 2022 death of Christian Glass, which drew national attention and led to changes in how officers are trained to respond to people in mental health crises under a $19 million settlement with his family, the Associated Press reports. The jury had the option to convict Buen on the lesser charge of homicide, which carries a sentence of up to three years in prison. Buen was jailed, where he will stay until he is sentenced April 14. Murder convictions against officers are rare, and the decision in Buen’s case follows a long trend of officers avoiding harsh punishment for actions taken while they were on duty. Jurors delivered murder convictions against police only nine times in the U.S. over the past two decades, says Prof. Philip Stinson of Bowling Green University. Thursday’s verdict “is a typical result that we see. It’s not uncommon that in these cases an officer will be convicted of a lesser offense, if convicted at all,” Stinson said.
Nevertheless, Glass’ mother said she hoped it would stop a similar tragedy in the future. “Our son was murdered and we pray that today’s verdict prevents another family from suffering as we have,” Sally Glass saidt. Prosecutors alleged that Buen needlessly escalated a standoff with Glass, who showed signs of a mental health crisis and refused orders to get out of his SUV near Silver Plume, a small former mining town in the Rocky Mountains west of Denver. The defense argued that Buen was legally justified in shooting Glass, who had a knife, to protect a fellow officer. “Murder was never the appropriate charge in this case and we are grateful to all of the jurors for recognizing that,” defense attorney Carrie Slinkard said, adding that the case would have implications for law enforcement statewide. This was the second trial for Buen. Nearly a year ago, another jury convicted him of misdemeanor reckless endangerment for putting other officers in danger by opening fire but could not reach agreement on a murder charge and a charge of official misconduct. With the support of Glass’ family, prosecutors decided to try him again for second-degree murder alone.
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