Clear Creek deputies fired and indicted in killing of Christian Glass after investigation found 'policy and procedural failures'

Two Clear Creek sheriff's deputies were indicted by a grand jury and fired Wednesday, six months after at least one of them shot and killed 22-year-old Christian Glass while he was stranded on the side of the road and experiencing an apparent mental health crisis.

Deputy Andrew Buen, 29, has been charged with second-degree murder, official misconduct and reckless endangerment, according to court documents. Bond was set at $50,000. Deputy Kyle Gould, 36, was charged with criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment. Bond for Gould was set at $2,500. Both have been fired, the sheriff's office said.

Glass was killed in June but the case became publicly known in September after his parents called for accountability and released bodycam footage of their son's killing.  

"Today's decision by a Grand Jury to indict Mr. Andrew Buen and Mr. Kyle Gould, follows months of a painstaking investigation by a team of dedicated investigators and careful consideration by members of our community empaneled to serve on a Grand Jury," the Clear Creek Sheriff's Office said in a statement Wednesday night.

The sheriff's office went on to admit to failures in policy and procedure and acknowledged that some important details were left out of its early statements on the killing.

"While the investigation is still underway, preliminary findings show there were policy and procedural failures, and the initial news release about the shooting, based on the information available at the time of the incident, does not reflect the entirety of what happened on that terrible night."

Glass' parents released a statement through their attorney, Siddhartha Rathod: "Nothing will bring Christian back to his family. Simon and Sally Glass are relieved appropriate charges have been brought against some of those responsible for the murder of their son. However, justice for Christian will require all those involved being held accountable. Christian's death is a stain on every officer who was present and failed to prevent the escalation and unnecessary uses of force."  

Last month, Glass's parents applauded the case going to a grand jury, saying in a statement through their attorney: "The wheels of justice are turning in the right direction, and we support the efforts and diligence of the 5th Judicial District Attorney, Heidi McCollum, to empanel a Grand Jury."

Glass was killed on June 10 when his car broke down in Silver Plume. He called 911 for help, and police from Georgetown and Idaho Springs arrived along with Clear Creek County Sheriff's deputies.

Glass told the emergency dispatcher he had two knives, a hammer and a rubber mallet. His family's attorneys say that's because he was an amateur geologist.

Over the course of a chaotic hour of escalating tension, law enforcement officers ordered Christian Glass to get out of the car, but he expressed fear of being shot. His family says he was suffering from a mental health crisis.

The shooting renewed interest among county officials in forming a crisis response team, something county commissioners said they tried to start two years earlier.

As things escalated, officers broke a window in an attempt to get him out and Glass grabbed one of the knives. Deputies then tased him.

Body cam video then showed Christian Glass beginning to swing the knife wildly with his arm. That's when a Clear Creek deputy or deputies shot him. Investigators have still not said how many deputies actually shot him.