Andrew Buen found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in 2022 shooting death of Christian Glass

Updated Feb. 20 at 5:20 p.m.

Andrew Buen has been found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Christian Glass.

A jury took almost a full day to convict the former Clear Creek County Sheriff’s deputy guilty of the lesser felony charge in shooting and killing Glass in June 2022.

The sentence for criminally negligent homicide is up to three years in prison, but Buen is eligible to receive probation and no prison time. He was taken into custody Thursday after the verdict was read.

Glass’ parents, Simon and Sally, sat quietly with their attorney Siddartha Rathod as the verdict was read. A shocked sigh could be heard from the family and supporters of Buen.

As snow started falling outside the courthouse in Georgetown on Thursday afternoon, the Glasses and Rathod stood outside and said the only real justice would be Glass coming home alive, but Buen’s conviction provides some sense of closure.

“He's in handcuffs. He's being walked away in handcuffs and he's finally going to be in jail, which is where he needs to be,” Sally Glass said.

Buen faced second-degree murder charges in Glass’ death, which is punishable by up to 48 years in prison. Still, the lesser felony charge means that Buen will lose his certification to serve in law enforcement. Buen had already been convicted of reckless endangerment from a previous trial.

Second trial rehashed arguments

Glass was traveling home from Utah when his car got stuck on a road near Silver Plume on a late night in June 2022. The 22-year-old Boulder resident called 911 for assistance.

After officers from multiple agencies arrived on-scene, they asked Glass to get out of his car. His refusal sparked a 70-minute encounter that ended with his passenger-side window shattered and then bean bags and tasers deployed. Buen shot five rounds from his gun, all of which struck Glass as he sat in his car, killing him.

Throughout the trial, prosecutors argued that while Glass’ behavior during his interaction with law enforcement was abnormal, he was going through a mental crisis at the time. They said he was never a danger to anyone or committed any crime.

Prosecutor Joe Kirwan emphasized that this all started with a call for help.

“He was stuck. He couldn't go any further,” Kirwan said of Glass. “But what's the first thing the officers you would expect would do when they arrived on scene? What would be the first thing you would expect the officers to ask you? ‘What happened? How did you get in this spot?’ This defendant never asked that question.”

Glass admitted to officers that he had smoked cannabis before their arrival.

Buen’s attorneys painted Glass as someone who tried to swipe at then-Georgetown Marshal Randy Williams with a knife. They said that Buen shot Glass because he thought Williams was in imminent danger.

Defense attorney Mallory Revel made that point during her closing on Wednesday.

“Andrew believed Mr. Glass was trying to stab Randy Williams and Randy Williams was in imminent danger. Why else would Andrew have shot? What motive does he have? He doesn't know Christian. He had just spent over an hour trying to get Christian help. There's no motive, she said.

The defense attorneys also said that Buen thinks about the “tragedy” every day. On Thursday, the Glass’ family said Christian and the family were the only ones who experienced tragedy that night.

“Why did he kill our son? He had no reason to. There was no purpose to it at all,” Simon Glass said. “So, I feel that we have to trust our police to serve and protect as the prosecution said. And when they don't, there needs to be heavy consequences because it's like rooting out evil in your own police.”

Tony Gorman

Sentencing set in April

The fallout from Glass' death resulted in his family receiving a $19 million settlement – the largest known law enforcement settlement in Colorado history. The Glass family said Thursday that they set up a fund to give the money to charity.

“It’s blood money,” Sally Glass said. “We don’t want it.”

Buen was not eligible for bail because he used a firearm and was immediately taken into custody by the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s deputies after the verdict was read.

Buen’s family and supporters said “I love you” as he was being led out of the courtroom in handcuffs. An outburst between the two sides occurred when Buen’s mother told the Glass family “God help you all!”

Sally Glass said the exchange was upsetting.

“I think it's hard. It is her son and he's going to jail. But, Andy Buen is alive.” Sally Glass said. “We had to fly with our son's ashes in our backpack on a plane to bury him in his home country —  that is losing a son. And when I see an outpouring of sympathy and love for the man that murdered our son, it made me pretty angry.”

Buen will be sentenced on April 14.

Buen was tried and convicted of reckless endangerment in April 2024. But, the jury in that trial couldn’t come to a unanimous agreement on murder and official misconduct charges. It was discovered later that one juror from the trial simply wouldn’t convict Buen of murder after the other 11 agreed to do so.

Others face failure to intervene charges

Officers from five different jurisdictions responded to the call in June 2022. Six on-scene officers were charged with failure to intervene. Sgt. Kyle Gould, the supervising officer who viewed the incident remotely, pleaded guilty to the charge. His POST certification was revoked in Colorado. Williams and officer Tim Collins, who was a Clear Creek County deputy at the time, resigned from the Georgetown Police Department after being charged. Williams' next court date is April 29. Collins is scheduled to appear on April 8.

Late last year, a judge dropped charges against gaming officials Mary Harris and Christa Lloyd who were serving as backing officers during the confrontation. 

Brittany Morrow, who is now with the Idaho Springs Police Department, and Trooper Ryan Bennie were also charged, but have yet to go to trial. Morrow is scheduled to appear in court  March 4.  Bennie is set to appear  May 6.

Glass’ death has also made an impact on law enforcement in Clear Creek County. Following the resignations of Williams and officer Tim Collins, the town was left with only one officer. The town hired a police marshal. But, he resigned shortly after taking the job last October. 

The town went into an intergovernmental contractual agreement with the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office to provide law enforcement services.