A former Colorado sheriff’s deputy was convicted of a misdemeanor in the shooting death of a 22-year-old man in distress who had called 911 for help after his car got stuck in a small mountain community. Andrew Buen was also charged with second-degree murder and official misconduct in the 2022 death of Christian Glass, which drew national attention and prompted calls for police reform focused on crisis intervention. Jurors could not reach a verdict on those charges and found him guilty of reckless endangerment, which is typically punished by a maximum four months in jail, The Associated Press reports. Prosecutors alleged that Buen needlessly escalated a standoff with Glass, who exhibited signs of a mental health crisis. The defense argued that Buen shot Glass to protect a fellow officer, which made the shooting legally justified. A second officer indicted in Glass’ death had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. Six other officers have been charged with failing to intervene.
District Attorney Heidi McCollum still has the option of pursuing charges against Buen for murder and official misconduct. She said Friday she expects to make a decision soon. “The jury found Deputy Buen’s conduct to be criminal,” said Siddharta Rathod, an attorney for the Glass family. “The jury found Deputy Buen guilty of reckless endangerment. And it is one step closer to getting justice for Christian. Deputy Buen will re-face a jury of his peers.” Glass called for help after his SUV became stuck on a dirt road in Silver Plume. He told a dispatcher he was being followed and made other statements suggesting he was paranoid, hallucinating or delusional, and experiencing a mental health crisis, according to Buen’s indictment. When Buen and other officers arrived, Glass refused to get out of his vehicle. Officers’ body camera footage showed Glass making heart shapes with his hands to the officers and praying: “Dear Lord, please, don’t let them break the window. In closing arguments, prosecutors said Buen decided from the start that Glass needed to get out of the vehicle and shouted commands at him 46 times over about 10 minutes. The prosecution contends Buen did not have any legal justification to force Glass out, not even if it was a suspected case of driving under the influence.