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The distraught parents of Christian Glass left the courtroom on Monday moments before prosecutors played graphic bodycam footage from the sheriff’s deputy charged with murdering their son.
Glass, 22, was killed in June 2022, less than two hours after calling 911 when his car became stuck off a rural dirt road late at night near the tiny mining town of Silver Plume, about 47 miles west of Denver, Colorado.
Former Clear Creek County Sheriff’s deputy Andrew Buen has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, reckless endangerment and first-degree official misconduct in connection with Glass’s killing.
Buen was the first officer to arrive on scene with his partner. Six officers from five different law enforcement agencies arrived later.
On Monday morning, Sally and Simon Glass exited the courtroom before the 13 women and two men in the jury box were shown Buen’s bodycam footage from the night. One juror subtly shook her head and stared open-mouthed as the footage played.
The jury were shown the entirety of the footage with prosecutors ending the tape after Glass’s body was pulled from the driver’s seat of his car.
Soon after Buen and his partner arrived, Glass can be heard asking in the video whether they are going to shoot him. He also requests they tow his vehicle to the police station and both appears and says he is scared to leave the car.
Instead, Buen demands repeatedly that Glass exit the vehicle.
The situation escalates as officers use tasers, bean bag rounds and shout orders to get Glass out of the car. As windows are broken and Glass thrashes, he grabs a small knife and begins gesturing towards an officer from inside the vehicle. Shots can be heard on the bodycam footage.
Glass was pronounced dead at the scene.
The bodycam also included a muted “private” phone call between Buen and Sgt Kyle Gould, who was supervising remotely, and gave the order to breach the vehicle.
Gould pleaded guilty last year to lesser charges and has been stripped of his peace officer certification. The six other officers on scene have been charged with duty to intervene – essentially failure to stop the escalation of events.
Buen, who was terminated from the department following the charges, wore a collared shirt and dark suit to court on Monday. Clean shaven with thick-rimmed eye glasses, he alternately watched the bodycam footage, took notes and sipped water,
The video was played during the second day of the trial. During opening arguments on Friday, prosecutors told jurors that Buen had seemed intent from the outset upon getting Christian out of the vehicle, acting in an “aggressive, excessive and criminal manner” despite verbally acknowledging there had been a car crash and there was likely an ongoing mental crisis.
Buen’s defence lawyers questioned Glass’s sobriety and argued that the responding officers had to consider public safety.
Friday’s opening arguments were followed by testimony from 911 operator Paige Kincaid and the 911 call that Glass had made. Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Derek Graham, who interviewed Buen in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, took the stand on Monday.
Other witnesses expected to testify include Christian Glass’s mother, and a use of force expert who testified in the George Floyd case.
The trial continues.
