Police officers indicted in killing of Colorado man who made heart symbols as they approached
CBC
A grand jury has indicted two Colorado sheriff's deputies in the death of a 22-year-old man who was shot after calling 911 for roadside assistance while experiencing what his mother described as a mental health crisis, according to online court records.
The indictments of former Clear Creek County Sheriff's deputies Andrew Buen and Kyle Gould were returned Wednesday, five months after Christian Glass, 22, was killed by law enforcement. The case has become a flashpoint amid a national outcry for police reforms focused on crisis intervention and de-escalation.
It has also garnered international attention. Glass was born to British and Kiwi parents in New Zealand before the family moved to the U.S., and diplomatic officials in both New Zealand and Great Britain have written to state officials to express their concern and interest in the circumstances of the case, per a report earlier this year from Colorado Public Radio.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has met privately with Glass's parents, offering his condolences and calling it a tragedy that "should never have happened," according to a statement obtained by a local news outlet in September.
Charges against the two deputies include second-degree murder for Buen, criminally negligent homicide for Gould, as well as reckless endangerment and official misconduct charges, according to court records.
Late on June 10, Glass called the police because his car had become stuck on an embankment.
Videos shared with The Associated Press show Glass refusing to come out of his car while also telling police he's "terrified" and making heart shapes with his hands to officers. At one point, he also can be seen praying with folded hands and saying, "Dear Lord, please, don't let them break the window."
WARNING: Video contains scenes some viewers may find disturbing:
Officers talked to Glass to try to persuade him to leave the car. After more than an hour of negotiations, police said in a press release in June that Glass was being "argumentative and unco-operative" before they broke the passenger window and removed a knife from the vehicle.
Glass offered to throw two other knives out of the window but the video shows officers telling him not to. His family has said he was a geology enthusiast who carried knives and tools on his excursions.
Once the window was shattered, Glass seemed to panic and grabbed a second knife. Police then shot Glass with bean bag rounds and shocked him with a stun gun. The footage shows Glass twisting in his seat and thrusting a knife toward an officer who approaches the rear driver window. Then another officer fired his gun, hitting Glass six times, according to the autopsy report.
Glass never left the vehicle during the entire encounter.
During a September news conference, Glass's mother, Sally Glass, said her son suffered from depression, had recently been diagnosed with ADHD and was "having a mental health episode" the night he was killed.
"I have a hole in my heart, and it will be there until the day I die," she said.