World News
Second murder trial scheduled for the murder of Christian Glass
A second jury trial has been scheduled for the former Clear Creek County sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed Christian Glass. This signals that criminal charges will continue just days after jurors failed to reach a verdict on the murder charge in an initial trial.
Andrew Buen, 30, will now stand trial again in August on charges of second-degree murder and official misconduct for the June 10, 2022, murder of Glass.
He was convicted of reckless endangerment Friday after a jury trial, but jurors deadlocked on the more serious charges of second-degree murder and official misconduct.
Eleven of the 12 jurors wanted to find Buen guilty of manslaughter during their deliberations, but a persistent juror stopped the group from returning a verdict, said Siddhartha Rathod, an attorney for the Glass family. The statements must be unanimous.
On Tuesday, Rathod said he hopes Buen will plead guilty to manslaughter rather than proceed with the second jury trial, scheduled to begin on August 12.
“I don’t think he should put Simon and Sally through this again,” Rathod said, referring to Glass’s parents, who attended the first jury trial. “I am hopeful that he pleads guilty… he should plead guilty to the top charge.”
Buen’s attorney did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.
Buen shot Glass after the 22-year-old called 911 for help when his car became stuck on a rock in Clear Creek County. When Glass refused to leave his car, officers eventually broke his window and tried to force him out. During the ensuing chaos, Glass stabbed an officer and Buen shot him several times.
Prosecutors said during the jury trial that Glass, who talked about seeing “skinwalkers,” was experiencing a mental health crisis and that police had no legal justification for forcing him out of the car because he had committed no crime.
Buen’s attorneys argued that Glass was high on drugs — he had amphetamine and marijuana in his system — and that officers had to pull him from the vehicle to investigate a possible DUI.
A separate grand jury investigation into the 2022 incident found that Glass had committed no crime, acted in panic and self-defense before being killed, and never came close to stabbing the officers.
The law enforcement agencies involved agreed to a $19 million settlement with Glass’s parents in May.
Buen was fired after being indicted.
Sign up to receive crime news straight to your inbox every day.
