DENVER, CO - A former Colorado sheriff's deputy who was convicted back in February of criminally negligent homicide for an officer-involved shooting that took place in 2022, has been sentenced to three years in prison.
According to the Associated Press (AP), Andrew Buen was sentenced on Monday, April 14th, for the shooting death of Christian Glass. Buen was given the maximum sentence by a judge who said that the shooting was about power. Prosecutors alleged that Buen needlessly escalated a standoff with Glass, who at the time, showed signs of a mental health crisis and refused orders to get out of his SUV.
His parents and the agencies involved reached a 19 million settlement that included crisis intervention training for officers responding to people in distress. Judge Catherine Cheroutes said Buen's sentence needed to address both the loss of Glass and the damage done to the community by the shooting.
She said, "I think this was about power. It wasn't a mistake. It was about, 'you need to listen to me because I'm in charge.'" She said she believed Buen's family and supporters that he was a "shirt-off-your-back kind of guy," but said he acted differently when he put on a uniform and had a gun. During the sentencing, Buen apologized to the Glass family, dabbing his eyes with a tissue as he spoke at a podium.
Glass' family had questioned whether any remorse Buen might show would be sincere. When he spoke, his voice was shaky and he said that the family had every right to feel the way they do. He said his actions had escalated the standoff and told the judge he wasn't "owed" anything. Before he was sentenced, Buen said, "There are a million things I should have done better that night."
Simon Glass said his family's grief was compounded at first by authorities initially describing his son as the aggressor in the standoff, which the sheriff's office later apologized for. He said he takes comfort that his son's name has been cleared, in part because of the body camera footage.
Buen, a former deputy in Clear Creek County, was convicted after a second trial. Nearly a year ago, another jury convicted him of a misdemeanor for recklessly putting other officers in danger by opening fire. However, jurors could not agree on a murder charge or a charge of official misconduct. Prosecutor decided to try Buen again on a second-degree murder charge.
Jurors also had the option of convicting him of the less serious charge of criminally negligent homicide. The defense argued that Glass had a knife and Buen was legally justified in shooting him to protect a fellow officer. Buen's indictment said that after Glass' SUV got stuck, he told a 911 dispatcher that he was being followed. He also made other statements suggesting he was paranoid, hallucinating or delusional, and experiencing a mental health crisis.
According to CBS News, the judge also sentenced Buen to 120 days in jail for reckless endangerment to be served concurrently with the criminal negligent homicide sentence. Buen has credit for 54 days served. Prior to the sentencing, Buen said, "My actions resulted in the outcome of someone losing their life and that's something I live with every day."
According to the Associated Press (AP), Andrew Buen was sentenced on Monday, April 14th, for the shooting death of Christian Glass. Buen was given the maximum sentence by a judge who said that the shooting was about power. Prosecutors alleged that Buen needlessly escalated a standoff with Glass, who at the time, showed signs of a mental health crisis and refused orders to get out of his SUV.
His parents and the agencies involved reached a 19 million settlement that included crisis intervention training for officers responding to people in distress. Judge Catherine Cheroutes said Buen's sentence needed to address both the loss of Glass and the damage done to the community by the shooting.
She said, "I think this was about power. It wasn't a mistake. It was about, 'you need to listen to me because I'm in charge.'" She said she believed Buen's family and supporters that he was a "shirt-off-your-back kind of guy," but said he acted differently when he put on a uniform and had a gun. During the sentencing, Buen apologized to the Glass family, dabbing his eyes with a tissue as he spoke at a podium.
Glass' family had questioned whether any remorse Buen might show would be sincere. When he spoke, his voice was shaky and he said that the family had every right to feel the way they do. He said his actions had escalated the standoff and told the judge he wasn't "owed" anything. Before he was sentenced, Buen said, "There are a million things I should have done better that night."
Simon Glass said his family's grief was compounded at first by authorities initially describing his son as the aggressor in the standoff, which the sheriff's office later apologized for. He said he takes comfort that his son's name has been cleared, in part because of the body camera footage.
Buen, a former deputy in Clear Creek County, was convicted after a second trial. Nearly a year ago, another jury convicted him of a misdemeanor for recklessly putting other officers in danger by opening fire. However, jurors could not agree on a murder charge or a charge of official misconduct. Prosecutor decided to try Buen again on a second-degree murder charge.
Jurors also had the option of convicting him of the less serious charge of criminally negligent homicide. The defense argued that Glass had a knife and Buen was legally justified in shooting him to protect a fellow officer. Buen's indictment said that after Glass' SUV got stuck, he told a 911 dispatcher that he was being followed. He also made other statements suggesting he was paranoid, hallucinating or delusional, and experiencing a mental health crisis.
According to CBS News, the judge also sentenced Buen to 120 days in jail for reckless endangerment to be served concurrently with the criminal negligent homicide sentence. Buen has credit for 54 days served. Prior to the sentencing, Buen said, "My actions resulted in the outcome of someone losing their life and that's something I live with every day."
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