EAGLE, Colo. — June will mark three years since Christian Glass, 22, was shot and killed by law enforcement while experiencing a mental health crisis.
Prosecutors initially charged all seven law enforcement officers who were at the scene when then-Clear Creek County sheriff’s deputy Andrew Buen shot and killed Glass on June 10, 2022, as well as a supervisor who was not present.
Idaho Springs Police Officer Brittany Morrow, former Georgetown Police Officer Timothy Collins and Colorado State Trooper Ryan Bennie were each charged with failing to intervene in the excessive force of another officer. On Wednesday, those charges were dropped after they accepted a plea deal.
As part of the plea agreement, the defendants had to complete critical incident training, which included learning about de-escalation techniques and working with individuals in a mental health crisis or undergoing trauma.
In addition, Morrow, Collins, and Bennie participated in a video that will be used in training law enforcement officers in Colorado and throughout the country.
In the video, the three discuss what went wrong that night, what they could have done better, and how this case has changed their lives.
"At the time we decided to do this, I didn't realize that it would be quite this unique or this novel," 5th Judicial District Attorney Heidi McCollum said. "What we wanted to do was to find a way to bring something potentially good out of such a horrible and tragic circumstance."
In February, former Clear Creek County sheriff's deputy Andrew Buen was convicted of criminally negligent homicide during a retrial. Buen admitted to shooting and killing Glass in June 2022, and his defense team argued he only fired his weapon because he “honestly believed the safety of another person was in danger.”
Buen faced a second-degree murder charge. The jury found him guilty of the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide.
In April, Buen was sentenced to three years in prison.
McCollum said the result of Buen's retrial played a role in her decision to dismiss the cases for the three defendants in question.
"At the end of the day, when we then took that information and applied it to the underlying failure to intervene cases and the charges we had against these three defendants, we felt that our cases against each of these three defendants was not as strong as it would have been had Mr. Buen been found guilty of that higher charge of second degree murder," McCollum said.
In the video, Bennie said communication was "lacking" at the scene. Collins acknowledges that standing on the hood of the car may have put more "pressure" on Glass. Morrow believes that if the roles were reversed, and she were experiencing a crisis while surrounded by people with guns and flashlights, she would also not want to exit the vehicle.
McCollum cannot say she is entirely satisfied with this resolution, but she believes it is appropriate.
"On one level, I would like to say yes, I'm completely satisfied, and we've done the right thing. But on a more base level, I don't know that we'll ever be satisfied with this case because nobody won," McCollum said. "Christian Glass is dead. His family will never get him back."
The DA referenced another example where she chose an alternative method to prosecution. McCollum said it was in relation to a high school graduation party, where hundreds of students gathered on Bureau of Land Management land and received minor in possession charges.
"Rather than just put them all through the system, what we decided to do was they would work off their charge," McCollum said. "It was so much trash and garbage and debris that had been left that they didn't clean up. So, in order to work off their charge, we had them show up for cleanup, and they had to go to other sites in the county that had been trashed, not by them, but by others."
According to McCollum, there are times when justice is not served inside a courthouse.
"We're hoping [the video] shows what happens when law enforcement officers don't take time to use de-escalation techniques, and when officers don't have appropriate training to work with people who are in crisis or having traumatic episodes," said McCollum. "We were just looking for something that could be meaningful, and if we could make some kind of potential positive change out of such a horrific incident and such a senseless murder."
The Glass family received a historic settlement of $19 million in May 2023. The Glass family's civil attorney, Siddhartha Rathod, called this resolution creative prosecution work.
"Not all criminal defendants need to end up in shackles," Rathod said. "Andrew Buen deserves to be in prison, and he is in prison today for the murder of Christian Glass. These other officers are now doing something that accepts responsibility for their part in Christian's death, but also helps other officers become better at handling these type of situations."
According to Rathod, Christian's parents, Simon and Sally Glass, are currently out of the country.
"Sally and Simon Glass are very private people, and they have chosen to publicly speak for one reason, and that is to ensure that other Colorado families don't have to suffer the harm that they suffered to make Colorado better and safer," Rathod said. "The outcome that the district attorney's office crafted in these three officers' cases is a step in that direction."
Bennie and Morrow still work in law enforcement, while Collins has left the profession, according to McCollum.
In total, McCollum said eight individuals were involved in the case. Two gaming officers could not be prosecuted because of a state statute.
McCollum said the case against Georgetown Marshal Randolph Williams is still pending.
Former Clear Creek County deputy Kyle Gould pleaded guilty to ignoring his duty to report use of force and intervene in November 2023. Gould was sentenced to two years of probation and a $1,000 fine. He was also barred from working in law enforcement or security in Colorado. In exchange for his guilty plea, the charges of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment were dropped in the case.
The video was made with the support of the Colorado State Patrol (CSP). On Wednesday, CSP issued a statement on the dismissed charges.
This case began when the Glass family suffered the loss of their son, a loss that should never have occurred. I was very pleased to learn about the agreement reached between the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office and Trooper Ryan Bennie, specifically that the criminal charges he faced would be dismissed. While I wish the process to arrive at this outcome would have been different, particularly in avoiding an unnecessary criminal charge against Trooper Bennie, I also understand the complexities involved. Our agency will continue its efforts to learn and grow following our involvement in incidents as a part of our drive for continuous improvement. The Colorado State Patrol is glad to have Trooper Bennie continue his professional service to the people of Colorado as a member of our agency."
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