DENVER – A former Colorado Sheriff’s deputy has been convicted of shooting death of a 22-year-old man who called 911 for assistance.
In February, the ju judges discovered Andrew Buen was found guilty of criminally negligent murder in the 2022 death of Christian Glass.
Prosecutors alleged that Buen escalated the glass standoff unnecessarily. Glass has shown signs of a mental health crisis and rejected an order to break out of the SUV near Silver Plume, a small former mining town along Rocky Mountains 70, west of Denver.
His parents and officials have reached a $19 million settlement, which has changed how executives are trained to deal with people in a mental health crisis.
Judge Catherine Chelout said Buen’s sentence was necessary to address both the loss of glass and the damage caused to the community by what happened.
“I think this is about power. That wasn’t a mistake. “I’m in charge so I have to listen,” she said.
Buen, a former Clear Creek County aide, was convicted after his second trial.
Almost a year ago, another ju-san convicted him of a misdemeanor of opening fire and putting another officer in reckless danger. However, the ju judge was unable to agree to the charge of murder or official misconduct.
With the support of Glass Family, prosecutors decided to try Buen again on the charge of second-degree murder. The ju umpire also had the option to convict him of a non-serious charge of criminally negligent murder.
The defense argued that the glass had a knife and that Buen was legally justified by shooting him to protect his fellow officers.
Law enforcement officials are rarely convicted of more serious charges, as experts say they tend to benefit from doubts about how they will act in emergencies, experts say.
Two paramedics were convicted in 2023 for the 2023 death of Elijah McClain, a black man who became part of the rallying social justice cry that swept the US in 2020, causing two paramedics to be found guilty in 2023 for Colloado’s criminal negligence murder.
One of the paramedics was further convicted of a second-degree attack. The judge later released him from prison and instead sentenced him to probation.
