CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — The parents of a man killed by a deputy after calling 911 are speaking out after the release of an internal investigation.
The 72-page report is filled with screenshots from body-camera video and transcripts from the encounter, ending with a Douglas County sheriff’s investigator determining the deputy did not follow policies and procedures when he killed Christian Glass. Former deputy Andrew Buen faces a count of second-degree murder in Glass’ death.
“By a preponderance of the evidence, Deputy Buen was not within CCCSO (Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office) policy and procedure when he used deadly physical force against Mr. Glass,” the investigation states.
The investigation deems that Buen using deadly force against Glass was not consistent with that of a “reasonable officer.”
Christian Glass’ parents respond
“It wasn’t reasonable behavior. I think that’s got to be the understatement of the century,” Glass’ mother, Sally, said. “It was not reasonable behavior. I mean, the behavior is unconscionable.”
Sally and Simon Glass say it was a tough decision to go public with the details and body camera video of their son’s death.
“We’re sitting here discussing our son’s murder. It’s surreal, your worst nightmares,” Sally Glass said. “We actually put out onto the world, ‘Come watch, our son Christian was murdered.’ It’s horrific, but what choice did we have? If we didn’t do that, they would have gotten away with it.”
While they have never personally watched the body camera video, Sally and Simon Glass fought through reading the summary of the newly released internal investigation on Christian’s death.
“That’s the first time we’ve heard the police actually come out and say this was wrong,” Sally Glass said. “But the report just focused on the one guy that pulled the trigger. They all committed a crime. They all ganged up. I wonder why there aren’t reports on all of them.”
Report in Glass shooting names 7 responders
The internal report names seven officers involved from five agencies. A grand jury has indicted two now-former Clear Creek County Sheriff’s deputies: Buen and Kyle Gould.
“Not a single one of them said, ‘Stop, this is wrong,’” said Siddhartha Rathod, attorney for the Glass family. “None of them complied with Colorado’s law for an officer to intervene. They are all violating the same law: failure to intervene.”
“I just wonder, how bad does it have to get? How many innocent people have to be murdered?” Sally said. “I think it won’t stop until there’s an uprising and people say, ‘Enough already.'”
Clear Creek sheriff’s office statement
The Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office released the following statement concerning the investigation report:
“The shooting death of Mr. Christian Glass continues to be difficult for everyone involved. To maintain the highest levels of transparency Clear Creek County Sheriff Rick Albers asked, and Douglas County Sheriff’s Office accepted the request to conduct the Internal Affairs (IA) Investigation of Mr. Buen. Consistent with our pledge of transparency, we are releasing the Douglas County report today.
The IA Investigation by Douglas County was completed and reviewed by the Sheriff. Their independent investigation reaffirms the failure of policy and training that resulted in Mr. Buen’s termination. The detailed, unbiased investigation confirmed that Mr. Buen was not within CCCSO policy and procedures were not followed when Mr. Buen used deadly force against Mr. Christian Glass. The 72-page report painstakingly details Mr. Glass’s tragic loss of life, the excessive force against Mr. Glass, mistakes, and outright failures.
CCCSO policy and procedures are reflective of national best-practice standards. However, the report concludes that Mr. Buen did not adhere to those standards. CCSCO has an obligation to be better tomorrow than we are today. At the direction of the Sheriff, the Citizens Advisory Board will continue to review, evaluate, and make recommendations to improve procedures and ensure policies remain consistent with national standards. Command Staff will continue to assess each division, improve training and resources, and make recommendations to improve policies, procedures, and services in every area of operations. CCCSO will prioritize Crisis Intervention Teams, Mental Health response, and Co-Responder programs. These partnerships and steps are crucial to the value of life, success, and constitutional policing.”
Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office