Six officers have been cited for failing to intervene when a Clear Creek County sheriff’s deputy fatally shot Christian Glass after he known as 911 for roadside help whereas experiencing a psychological well being disaster in June 2022.
The misdemeanor depend was filed in opposition to former Georgetown Police Marshal Randy Williams, Idaho Springs Officer Brittany Morrow, Colorado Division of Gaming officers Mary Harris and Christa Lloyd, Colorado State Patrol trooper Ryan Bennie and former Clear Creek County deputy Tim Collins, who now works as an officer in Georgetown, in line with a press release from the Fifth Judicial District Lawyer Heidi McCollum on Friday morning.
Williams additionally faces third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, paperwork present.
“Regulation enforcement officers have to be held accountable for his or her actions when performing their trusted public service duties,” McCollum mentioned. “Yesterday, my workplace filed extra fees in opposition to every of the six different officers who had been current June 11, 2022, for failing to intervene within the occasions and actions of Andrew Buen, which led to Christian Glass’ demise.”
Physique digicam footage from the deadly capturing doesn’t present that any officer on the scene tried to cease the breach of Glass’ automobile earlier than the 22-year-old was shot. Footage from the June 2022 capturing exhibits the officers on a highway within the small mountain city of Silver Plume for greater than 70 minutes as Glass refuses to return out of his automobile, telling police he’s terrified and making a coronary heart form together with his fingers to officers.
At one level, Glass additionally might be seen praying with folded fingers and saying, “Pricey Lord, don’t allow them to break the window.” When officers broke the window, Glass appeared to panic and grabbed a knife.
In November 2022, a grand jury discovered that the choice to take away Glass from the car straight resulted in his demise.
Col. Matthew C. Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol, mentioned he reviewed physique digicam footage from the capturing and located “no indication” that Bennie violated any of the company’s insurance policies or coaching.
“I’m shocked by the choice of the District Lawyer to pursue fees in opposition to Trooper Bennie,” Packard mentioned in a press release Friday.
Bennie, who has been assigned to CSP for 4 years, will probably be reassigned to an administrative place whereas the case is pending, he mentioned.
The costs come a day after former Clear Creek County sheriff’s supervisor, who approved the elimination of Christian Glass from his automobile, pleaded responsible to 2 misdemeanors.
Kyle Gould pleaded responsible to ignoring his obligation to intervene and his obligation to report use of pressure by peace officers. He was sentenced by a Clear Creek County District decide to 2 years of unsupervised probation and a $1,000 nice. He’s additionally barred from working in legislation enforcement or safety.
In change for Gould’s responsible plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a felony cost of criminally negligent murder, courtroom paperwork present.
For weeks and months after their son’s demise, together with at his funeral, Sally and Simon Glass mentioned they believed their son died by “suicide by cop” after getting info from the police.
“That was our actuality and our reality for a lot of weeks,” Simon mentioned throughout a information convention in downtown Denver Friday afternoon. “We discovered it very exhausting to consider, inconceivable to consider, however that’s what we had been advised.”
Simon mentioned the assertion issued by the sheriff’s workplace after Glass’ demise was misleading and revealed a “cultural drawback” inside legislation enforcement companies.
After the body-camera footage was launched in September 2022, greater than 14 weeks after their son’s demise, Sally and Simon gained readability in what occurred within the moments main as much as the deadly capturing.
“It turned clear that as an alternative Christian was viciously attacked and murdered,” Simon mentioned.
Sally mentioned she was grateful that every one officers on the scene had been being held accountable for the demise of her son, whom she remembered as a “mild, type, inventive soul.”
“There are dangerous apples. There are rogue cops. Christian confronted an evil bully that evening … and 6 of them stood by and let him be murdered, ” Sally mentioned.
“It’s not that they didn’t do something improper, that’s the purpose,” she mentioned. “They didn’t do something and they need to have.”
From outdoors the Clear Creek County courthouse Thursday, Simon stood by his spouse, wishing all officers had been held accountable for failing to cease the killing of their son.
“All of them behaved abominably,” he mentioned. “Nothing can convey Christian again, however we actually need everybody there to be held accountable. We’ve mentioned that from the beginning. And it’s actually time for that to occur now. I feel it’s been 17 months that we’ve been ready for justice.”
Andrew Buen, the previous deputy who shot and killed Glass, pleaded not responsible to second-degree homicide and criminally negligent murder. Buen’s subsequent courtroom look is about for Dec. 20, the place a trial date is more likely to be scheduled.
Williams, Collins, Morrow, Bennie, Lloyd, and Harris are all scheduled to look in courtroom Dec. 12.