Prosecutors said former Clear Creek County Sheriff’s deputy Andrew Buen failed to protect and serve Christian Glass when he responded to a motorist assist call during closing arguments on Wednesday afternoon.
Buen is on trial for the second time in the 2022 shooting death of Christian Glass after a jury couldn’t come to a verdict on a murder charge last year.
“The tragedy is about Christian Glass. Tragedy is not about Andrew Buen. It's about Christian Glass,” prosecutor Stephen Potts told the jury. “And what this case is about is a scared 22-year-old boy in a car who gets stuck in a small town in Clear Creek County and simply doesn't want to get out of his car.”
Families and supporters of both Glass and Buen filled the Clear Creek County courtroom Wednesday as attorneys gave their final arguments. Glass’ parents sat with 5th Judicial District Attorney Heidi McCollum in the front of the courtroom.
After the 911 call from that night in June 2022 was played, prosecutor Joe Kirwan highlighted that Glass had offered to throw out geological equipment that would be considered weapons. Those include knives, a rubber mallet and a hammer. He said Buen wouldn’t have gotten in trouble had he accepted the offer.
“Well, ladies and gentlemen, common sense also has to prevail as well,” Kirwan said to the jury. “Someone who is asking for a motorist's assist and says he has weapons and he will throw them out and the officer says, 'No, you keep them'? That makes absolutely no sense at all.”
Kirwan also noted that the encounter was not treated as a motorist assist. He said no crash reports from the Colorado State Patrol were found related to Glass being stuck on the side of the road.
Glass was traveling home from a geology trip in Utah when his car was stuck on the side of a rural road near Silver Plume late at night. He called 911 for assistance.
Law enforcement from several different agencies responded to the report. Glass’ refusal to leave his car led to an intense 70-minute encounter with law enforcement that ended with bean bags and tasers being deployed. Buen fired off five shots that ultimately killed the Boulder resident.
Prosecutors also argued that Glass was going through a mental health crisis and wasn’t going anywhere due to his car being stuck. Kirwan described Buen's reaction as “shoot first, ask questions later.”
“He didn't commit any. There were no crimes there.” Kirwan said. “Unless you want to give him a traffic ticket for driving onto a rock. He didn't commit. He didn't rob anybody. He didn't kill anybody. He didn't steal from anybody. He drove onto a rock in the middle of the night.”
During the trial, it was noted that Glass had smoked cannabis before the officers arrived on the scene.
The defense fired back in its argument that Buen was justified in shooting Glass after he took one of the knives and started swiping at then-Georgetown Marshal Randy Williams.
Defense attorney Mallory Revel told the jury that Buen used de-escalation tactics with Glass before firing his weapon. She said he only used his weapon when he thought Williams was in imminent danger.
“Why else would Andrew have shot? What motive does he have? He doesn’t know Christian,” Revel said. “He had just spent over an hour trying to get Christian help. There's no motive. Ladies and gentlemen. The only thing that makes sense is that he perceived the threat and he was trying to defend Chief Williams.”
Buen’s attorneys also pointed out that pill bottles were found inside Glass’ car. They argued that even if Buen believed that Glass was going through a mental health crisis, resources weren’t available to assist with that situation.
Revel advised the jury to not get distracted by testimonies from expert witnesses in what she described as “Monday morning quarterbacking."
“What's critical to remember about the state's experts and their detectives? Every single one of them used that 2020 vision of hindsight,” Revel said. “And if you look at their testimony closely, you'll find that it's full of inconsistencies. They couldn't agree on some of the most basic things.”
Revel said Buen thinks about that night every day and that his heart breaks for the Glass family. She emphasized that Buen was not a rogue cop who was acting in a vacuum during his encounter with Glass.
“He had other officers on scene and remember who told him, use a taser? Who told him, get the less lethal? Who told him to break the window?” Revel said. “He's not stomping around making these decisions in a vacuum. He's getting input and he's even taking direction from others because everyone on scene with that same knowledge, belief, those actions were all appropriate regardless. None of them constitute second degree.”
Buen is being retried for second-degree murder. But the jury can come back with a conviction of reckless manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide.
The jury deliberations will continue Thursday morning.
