Updated on Monday, April 14, 2025, at 2:39 p.m.
After three years and two trials, the former Clear Creek County deputy Andrew Buen was sentenced to the maximum three years in the 2022 death of Christian Glass.
Buen appeared in court in an orange jail suit on Monday morning with his attorneys as Judge Catherine Cheroutes handed down the sentence for criminally negligent homicide.
“In my mind, this is about the homicide, that is and always was what this has been about — is Mr. Buen killed Christian Glass. And that deserves punishment,” Cheroutes said.
Buen was also sentenced to two years of parole and will be given credit for the 54 days he has already spent in custody.
Before the sentencing, there was more than an hour of tear-filled impact statements, first from Glass’ father, mother and sister followed by Buen’s mother and other family members and friends.
The Glass family and their supporters sat with their attorney Siddhartha Rathod in the center of the courtroom, and Buen’s family and supporters sat behind him on the right side.
Family gives statements through tears
“This murder has torn up my life,” Simon Glass said. “I'm under treatment for depression and trauma, taking various medications and seeing a therapist and a coach. The joy in life is gone. I feel no joy because I've lost Christian. I don't know when or if it'll come back.”
Glass’ mother, Sally and his sister Katie also gave emotional victim impact statements. At one point, Sally Glass addressed Buen.
“Wouldn't it be wonderful, that if after the 3 or 4 years, hopefully, you spend in prison, you come out and you actually do some good in the world? That would be amazing” she said. “And then it wouldn't be two lives lost. It would be Christian's life lost, but you will go on and maybe you could be a decent contributing human being in society.”
State attorney Stephen Potts asked for the maximum sentence. He also told Cheroutes that the body camera footage has outlived the trial.
“The body cam footage that's used in this case is used all over the country as an example of what not to do in policing, and what was done wrong at the scenes of an incident like this,” Potts said.
Simon Glass mentioned a lone bright spot in the outcome of the trial in his statement.
“The legal system has not been easy for me as a victim and certainly not for Christian, but the one thing I do take confidence in is that Christian's name has now finally been cleared.”
Buen addresses judge
For the first time in two trials, Buen spoke at length to the judge before the sentencing. And in another first in the courtroom, Buen apologized.
“There's a million things I should have done better that night. And every day I wish that I did,” Buen said as he wiped tears from his eyes. “My actions and decisions … are what escalated the situation, and Christian deserved better. I wish I could take it all back.
Buen’s mother, Laura Boyd was also in tears, barely able to speak as she addressed the judge. She spoke directly to the Glass family and expressed her condolences.
“First of all, I know his actions have profoundly impacted the lives of many, including ours, including his. I understand the gravity of this situation and the pain that's been caused,” Boyd said to the judge before turning to the Glass family to give condolences. “I know that there's nothing that can solve the loss of a child.”
Buen loses law enforcement license
Along with the sentence, Buen lost his Colorado Peace Officer Standards & Testing certification and can no longer be employed as a law enforcement officer in the state of Colorado.
Cheroutes said that she researched the lengths of sentences for police officers who killed someone, but found only instances of sentencing in which someone else killed an officer.
“And those sentences are extreme and severe and uncompromising, and the reason is because we hold law enforcement to a higher level,” she said
She went on to say that she thought the case was about power.
“It's really kind of amazing to me how Mr. Buen, who I truly believe is a kind and gentle and loyal person, the-shirt-off-your-back kind of guy, as soon as you put a uniform on him and give him a gun, it changes everything,” Cheroutes said.
What happened in 2022
Christian Glass was heading home from a geology trip in Utah when his car was stuck on the side of a dirt road near Silver Plume in June 2022.
The 22-year-old had called 911 for assistance. Glass told dispatchers that he had tools such as a rubber mallet, knives and a hammer that could be considered as weapons. When officers arrived on scene, they tried to get Glass to leave the vehicle. But he refused.
That led to a 70-minute standoff between Glass and law enforcement. Glass told officers that he was willing to drive to the station once his car was free. He also told them that he had smoked cannabis prior to their arrival.
When Glass picked up a knife, officers fired bean bags and tasers. Buen fired off several rounds from his gun that struck and killed Glass.
Second of two trials
Buen was tried and convicted of reckless endangerment in April 2024. But the jury couldn’t reach a verdict on the second-degree murder trial. The foreperson of the jury said there was one hold-out juror who refused to convict Buen for murder.
Buen was retried in February. The jury, after deliberating for nearly a full day, convicted him of criminally negligent homicide. Following the verdict, both families and supporters engaged in yelling at one another in the courtroom.
Buen was not eligible for bail due to his use of a firearm during the crime and was taken into custody immediately.
During the retrial, prosecutors said Glass was going through a mental health crisis when he called 911 and was seeking assistance. Defense attorneys argued that Glass was on drugs when officers arrived on scene. They said Buen reacted to Glass trying to stab then-Georgetown Marshal Randy Williams.
Potts noted that some of jurors from the first trial attended the sentencing.
After the sentencing
After the sentencing hearing, the family and Rathod spoke with the media outside the courthouse. He said the Glass family’s three years of sacrifice helped improve law enforcement in Colorado.
“The judge at sentencing today talked about can there be a positive to this horrible situation. And that positive comes in the form of the sacrifice of the Glass family, the sacrifice that they gave to the Colorado community for three years,” Rathod said. “They have fought to improve law enforcement, to hold law enforcement accountable and they have changed the landscaping of law enforcement, not only in Georgetown but across the nation. And they have made it safer for other people, for other Coloradans. And that's going to be one of the legacies of Christian Glass.”
The family said that it was the first time that they saw remorse from Buen. But said they believed it was only for himself.
“You could hear from his family, they feel bad for themselves. The thing is: Christian's dead. We always felt there was no compassion for him or remorse. It really wasn't about Christian, it was the fact that he got caught,” Sally Glass said. “So, the tears today are in stark contrast to the behavior we witnessed in court over these last three years.”
The Glass family would like to see Buen make positive and constructive contributions to society once he completes his sentence.
“Do I think he's a decent person? I just know that he treated my son like an absolute animal that night. So when his family talked about this kind gentleman, I mean we have no experience of it. Quite the antithesis of that,” Sally Glass said. When asked what was next for the family, Simon Glass said time and acceptance. He admitted that it would take a while for the usually private family.
“I don’t know how we get there. I would like to stop shaking all the time and stop feeling like I do,” said Simon Glass, whose family told the court they have gone to counseling and experienced depression, anxiety and panic attacks since Chritian’s death. “I would like to be able to go places and be comfortable there and not be terrified at what might happen for no reason. So it's time. It's time.”
- Andrew Buen found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in 2022 shooting death of Christian Glass
- Retrial for ex-deputy accused of fatally shooting Christian Glass officially begins with opening statements
- Retrial for ex-deputy accused of shooting and killing Christian Glass in his parked car begins
- Former deputy who killed Christian Glass will be retried on felony charges after hung jury
This is a developing story and will be updated.
