New Zealand man Christian Glass was shot dead by police in Colorado after he called for roadside assistance. Video / Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office
A former United States police officer has pleaded guilty to charges relating to the 2020 death of a Kiwi who was having a mental episode when he was killed by the officers he called for help.
Gould pleaded guilty to failing to intervene to stop the unlawful use of force against Glass, who was shot and killed by sheriff’s deputy Andrew Buen under Gould’s command. Glass called police for help when his SUV got stuck.
Gould was the shift supervisor. Prosecutors alleged he gave permission for Buen to remove Glass from his vehicle, even though he was not suspected of having committed any crime.
Gould, who worked as a sergeant for the Clear Creek Sheriff’s Office, was indicted last year on charges of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment in Glass’ death, which drew national attention and prompted calls for police reforms focused on crisis intervention. Both Gould and Buen were sacked after they were indicted last year.
Christian Glass had called police to help him. Instead an officer shot him dead. Photo / Supplied
Gould negotiated a deal to plead guilty to a lesser charge of failure to intervene, a crime created as a result of protests over the murder of George Floyd in 2020. It is punishable by up to 364 days in jail but the deal called for Gould to get a sentence of probation.
Judge Catherine Cheroutes had the final say on his punishment and, while she said jail time could be appropriate, she said she would impose two years of probation to resolve the case. Gould must give up his certification to work as a police or security officer in Colorado.
Sally and Simon Glass, Christian’s parents, watched in court in Idaho Springs as Gould was sentenced.
9News reported that they wore pink, their son’s favourite colour, and Sally held a heart-shaped rock in her hands, the same rock her son had with him when he was killed.
“Our son was a nice kid, and they killed a good kid. And I hope that Mr Gould now, throughout his life, well, the thing about being kinder and more compassionate to people that are in trouble,” she told the judge.
A statement released by their lawyers expressed support for prosecutors and noted that Gould had taken responsibility for his role in their son’s death.
“The Glass family hopes that the greater law enforcement community learns from this prosecution and makes changes to their policies and cultures to prevent this type of tragedy in the future,” it said.
Earlier this year, Glass’ parents won a US$19 million (NZ$30m) settlement that included policy changes such as crisis intervention training for officers responding to people in distress.
Buen has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, official misconduct and reckless endangerment.
Glass called for help after his SUV became stuck on a dirt road in the mountain town of Silver Plume, telling a dispatcher he was being followed and making other statements which the indictment said showed he was paranoid, hallucinating or delusional and experiencing a mental health crisis.
He refused to get out of the vehicle after officers from several agencies arrived. Officers’ body camera footage showed him making heart shapes with his hands to officers and praying: “Dear Lord, please, don’t let them break the window.”
Christian Glass' call to dispatchers clearly indicated he was paranoid, hallucinating or delusional and experiencing a mental health crisis. Photo / Supplied
After roughly an hour of negotiations, officers decided to break into the car even though there was no indication that Glass posed a danger or was suspected of a crime, the indictment said.
Once the window was smashed, body camera footage shows officers peppering Glass with beanbag rounds, then shooting him with a Taser. Glass brandished a knife in “a state of complete panic and self-defence” before twisting in his seat to thrust a knife in an officer’s direction, according to the indictment. Buen then fired his gun five times into Glass.
The grand jury found that at no point was the other officer in “imminent danger of being stabbed by Mr Glass”.
Outside court, Sally Glass told reporters that her family were still “trapped in this pain”, 9News reported.
“He [Gould] could just close the door and move on. We can never move on, because we’ve lost our son forever,” she said.
“I’ve been working on forgiveness, and kindness, and compassion, and there’s no point being vindictive because you can stick Mr Gould in jail but obviously it’s not going to bring Christian back.”
Her husband added: “It’s been, I think, 17 months now that we’ve been waiting for justice. Today was the first admission of guilt by anybody there.”
In a statement reported by Stuff, the Glass family said their fight for justice was not over, taking Buen to task for fighting the charges against him.
“He has unconscionably pleaded not guilty to Christian’s murder despite overwhelming evidence of his guilt.
“The Glass family’s suffering unfortunately continues as they tirelessly pursue justice for Christian’s murder through Mr Buen’s criminal prosecution.”
