Six additional law enforcement officers were criminally charged this week in connection with the police shooting of Christian Glass, the 22-year-old Boulder man who was killed by a Clear Creek County sheriff’s deputy after he called 911 for help in 2022.
Georgetown Marshal Randy Williams, Georgetown police Officer Timothy Collins, Idaho Springs police Officer Brittany Morrow, Colorado State Trooper Ryan Bennie and Division of Gaming officers Christa Lloyd and Mary J. Harris were all charged Thursday with failing to intervene in the excessive force of another officer. Williams is also charged with third-degree assault.
The six law enforcement officers are scheduled to make their first appearance in court on Dec. 12 on the new charges, which are all Class 1 misdemeanors.
Fifth Judicial District Attorney Heidi McCollum filed the new criminal charges the same day a former sergeant involved in the case, Kyle Gould, pleaded guilty to failing to intervene in the excessive force of another officer. He was sentenced to probation.
“Law enforcement officers must be held accountable for their actions when performing their trusted public service duties,” McCollum said in a statement issued Friday morning. “Yesterday, my office filed additional charges against each of the six other officers who were present June 11, 2022, for failing to intervene in the events and actions of Andrew Buen, which led to Christian Glass’ death.”
Gould and Andrew Buen, the Clear Creek County sheriff’s deputy who shot Glass, were until Friday the only two officers who faced criminal charges stemming from the June 2022 incident. Buen has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, reckless endangerment and official misconduct. Both were fired after the incident, and Gould agreed to never again work as a law enforcement officer when he pleaded guilty Thursday.
Glass was experiencing a mental health crisis when he called 911 on the night of June 10, 2022, and asked for help because he’d crashed his car down an embankment in Clear Creek County. He told the dispatcher that he was afraid of “skinwalkers” and people chasing him.
Seven law enforcement officers responded and spent more than an hour trying to coax Glass out of the car while he was experiencing delusions and paranoia. Eventually, Buen called Gould, who was his supervisor, and Gould gave permission for the officers to break Glass’ window and pull him from the car, even though Glass was not suspected of a crime.
In the chaos that ensued, Glass grabbed a knife and officers fired a Taser at him and shot him with beanbags in an attempt to force him to drop it. Instead, Glass twisted in the driver’s seat and thrust the knife toward an officer standing next to the shattered window behind him, prompting the deputy to shoot him.
A grand jury later found Glass committed no crime and acted in self-defense before he was killed.
The involved agencies agreed to a $19 million settlement with Glass’ parents in May.