CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, Colo. — After a pre-trial conference Monday for two deputies indicted in the death of Christian Glass, his parents called for police departments across Colorado to condemn his death like they condemned the killing of Tyre Nichols.
Christian Glass, 22, was killed in June by Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office deputies after his car got stuck on a road in Silver Plume and he called 911 for help. After a 70-minute encounter, Andrew Buen broke the window in Glass's car, used a Taser on him and shot him with rubber bullets before shooting and killing him, according to the indictment. Buen was indicted for second-degree murder by a grand jury in November.
His supervisor, Kyle Gould, was not on scene when Glass was shot, but he authorized Buen's breaking of the window over the phone, according to the inidictment. He was indicted for criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment.
"[We'd] love to see the other police chiefs here in this area in Colorado come out and condemn what happened to Christian Glass," said his father, Simon Glass, after Monday's court hearing. "They were very quick to do it with Tyre Nichols. This is happening in their own backyard."
"Elijah McClain with his iced tea? I'm just walking home. The guy driving, I'm just going home. Christian. Just driving. Like what, what are they doing?" asked his mother, Sally Glass.
"Someone should be saying, why did it take so many months? Why did we have to go public? Why did we have to create the pressure? Why couldn't it … why couldn’t we have done the same way they did it in Memphis," Simon Glass asked.
They said it's still hard to sleep, even as they begin to accept that their son is gone.
"If it can happen to us, it can happen to anyone. The people are outraged. And we have to make sure that this goes ahead," Sally Glass said. "They're indicted, they're prosecuted, they're convicted, they're put in prison, and it doesn't happen to somebody else."
Their comments came as the defense attorneys for both former Clear Creek deputies asked in court for the charges against them to be dismissed. Attorneys for Gould filed a motion Friday to get those charges dismissed.
The motion states, "No evidence was presented that Mr. Gould knew or suspected that the end result would be that Mr. Glass would be shot or killed."
“Kyle Gould was at home, he wasn’t working, he was called. He was asked to give his input and advice, and he wasn’t there,” said attorney Christopher Brosseau. He argued that even though Gould authorized the breach, he wasn't responsible for the decision of officers on scene to follow through with it.
“Mr. Gould responded based on what he knew. He gave the best advice he could based on what he knew, and the situation as explained to him,” the motion states.
The grand jury found that Glass posed no threat and that there was no evidence that he committed a crime, which was the same conclusion that an independent internal investigation by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office came to.
The motion to dismiss disputes this, saying, “The officers in Silver Plume that night could not simply let Mr. Glass go on his way. His car was high-centered, and it is unlikely that he could have driven away, but to allow that to potentially happen would have put other people, members of the community, at risk. Had the officers let Mr. Glass walk away, in his condition, with knives, would also have been an unjustifiable risk to the public.”
Their motion for dismissal also revealed that prosecutors only called one witness, a Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) agent who interviewed the on-scene officer after the shooting.
During Monday's court hearing, Buen's attorneys said they planned to file a similar motion to dismiss his charges, citing a lack of probable cause.
Attorneys for the Glass family said the motions weren't surprising, and it doesn't change their plans moving forward.
Prosecutors filed a motion on Jan. 24 to try both former deputies together.
Clear Creek County District Court Judge Catherine Cheroutes made no decision Monday. She said would consider the motions to dismiss, as well as the prosecution's motion and rebuttals, and issue a written order with her decision on whether to continue.
Their next day in court is scheduled for April 17.
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