GEORGETOWN, Colorado — Prosecutors have filed charges against six police officers in Clear Creek County for failing to intervene to stop the shooting death of Christian Glass in June of 2022.
The charges come a day after former Clear Creek County Deputy Kyle Gould pleaded guilty to duty to intervene. Gould gave the order to break into Glass' SUV, escalating the situation that led to the shooting. Former Deputy Andrew Buen, who shot and killed Glass that night, is awaiting trial. He's pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, official misconduct and reckless endangerment.
>The video above is from November, 2023.
Gould and Buen were indicted by a grand jury last November. As their cases worked through the court system over the last year, Glass's parents have argued the other officers on scene should face charges for their own inaction.
This week, Georgetown Police Marshal Randy Williams was charged with two misdemeanor counts - failure to intervene and third-degree assault.
Former Clear Creek County Deputy Tim Collins, Colorado Division of Gaming Enforcement Investigators Mary Harris and Christa Lloyd, Idaho Springs Police Officer Brittany Morrow and Colorado State Trooper Ryan Bennie all face one count of failure to intervene for their roles that night.
All the charges are class 1 misdemeanors.
The chief of the Colorado State Patrol released a statement Friday morning calling Glass' death a "tragedy" and said those responsible should be held accountable, but also said he was "shocked" by the charges against the trooper.
"As the Chief of the Colorado State Patrol, I have had the opportunity to review at length the events that led to the killing of Christian Glass. In my review, I found no indication that Trooper Bennie violated any Colorado State Patrol policy or training," Colonel Matthew Packard said. "I am shocked by the decision of the District Attorney to pursue charges against Trooper Bennie."
Bennie, who has been with the patrol for four years, has been moved to an administrative role while the case is pending.
Idaho Springs Police Chief Nathan Buseck said in a statement that he empathizes with the Glass family but "I strongly believe that Officer Morrow was not in a position to intervene in the tactical decisions of the two Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office deputies and Georgetown Marshal. It was their direct actions, over approximately 90 seconds, that led to the shooting of Christian Glass."
In a statement, the Idaho Springs Police Department commended Morrow for being "helpful and understanding" in her interactions with Glass and said she didn't violate any of the department's policies or procedures. Morrow will continue to be assigned to patrol duties, Buseck said.
Collins and Buen were first on scene responding to Glass's 911 call for help after Glass got his car stuck on a rock in Silver Plume. They were joined by the other officers in an attempt to negotiate with Glass to get out of his car for over an hour.
Morrow arrived on scene next. She spent several minutes calmly asking Glass to step out of the car and show the officers the heart shaped rock he was holding. At one point in Morrow's body camera video, Glass can be seen forming a heart with his hands.
Williams arrived on scene after Morrow, and he spends the most time talking to Glass. He tried to coax Glass out of the car by offering him something to eat or offering to make a phone call for him.
Harris, Lloyd and Bennie arrived after.
Early in the call, Gould, who is acting as a supervisor not on the scene, told Buen the team had permission to break into the car. Glass hadn't committed any crimes.
Colorado State Patrol (CSP) dispatch audio of the call revealed that Bennie's supervisor questioned why the team was about to break through the window.
"If there's no crime and he's not suicidal or in grave danger, then there's no reason to contact him," the supervisor said to Bennie over the radio.
Eventually, Buen broke the SUV's window, fired several bean bag rounds at Glass, shot him with a Taser and shot him five times in the chest, killing him. Williams, who had reached through a broken window to try to open Glass's door, also deployed a Taser, according to an internal affairs report about the incident released last year.
Collins, who was standing on the hood of Glass' SUV when the shooting happened, resigned as a Clear Creek County deputy weeks after the shooting. Williams hired Collins that November to work as a code enforcement officer in Georgetown. He became a patrol officer in April of this year. When Williams confirmed to 9NEWS that he had hired Collins, he said the department had received "indications" from the District Attorney that no charges were coming.
Rick Keuroglian, the town administrator in Georgetown, told 9NEWS Friday morning the charges have tremendous impact on his small department, as two of the town's three officers have been charged in this case.
The town board met in executive session the following Tuesday to consider Williams and Collins' statuses with the department, where it unanimously voted to place the two officers on paid administrative assignment, effective until Jan. 10, 2024.
Georgetown Police Judge Lynette Kelsey told 9NEWS the town wants to support its officers during the holidays.
Georgetown has intergovernmental agreements with other municipalities, including the Clear Creek County Sheriff, that they will rely on to cover calls in the area.
9NEWS has contacted the Colorado Department of Revenue's Division of Gaming for comment on the charges against Harris and Lloyd and the Idaho Springs Police Chief regarding the charge against Morrow.
Failure to intervene is a class one misdemeanor which could carry a sentence of up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. If a police officer pleads guilty or is convicted of the crime, their certification to be a police officer could be suspended or revoked.
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