Family of Colorado man who was shot after calling 911 wants officers charged in his death

Relatives are pressing for charges to be filed against the officers involved in the fatal shooting of a Colorado man who called 911 for help when his SUV got stuck this summer.

Christian Glass, 22, of Boulder, was shot by a Clear Creek County sheriff’s deputy early June 11 in Silver Plume, according to his family’s attorneys and the sheriff’s office.

He appeared to be holding a knife when he was shot five times after he refused to get out of his Honda Pilot for nearly 70 minutes, according to body camera video and an autopsy report provided by his family’s attorney.

His family’s attorneys said officers “escalated and proactively initiated force” that led to his death.

“The act of simply calling 911 for help cannot be a death sentence,” the Denver-based Rathod/Mohamedbhai law firm said in a statement Tuesday.

‘He trusted police to come and help him’

Glass’ parents, who are from New Zealand and the United Kingdom, made their first public comments this week since their son was killed.

“He was stuck on a small pile of rocks on the side of the road and called 911 for help,” Simon Glass told reporters at a news conference Tuesday. “It was dark, and he was really worried. He trusted police to come and help him. Instead, they attacked and killed him.”

Sally Glass said her son “did nothing wrong,” adding, “He was just too scared to get out of his car.”

‘Argumentative and uncooperative’

Clear Creek County Sheriff Rick Albers didn’t respond to requests for comment Wednesday, and the undersheriff couldn’t be reached by phone.

Attorneys for the Glass family on Wednesday provided NBC News with an abridged version of body camera video from the shooting, unedited body camera video, an autopsy report and public statements from agencies involved in the incident.

According to a June 11 statement from the sheriff’s office, deputies were alerted about a call for a “motorist assist” at 11:21 p.m. June 10.

“Deputies arrived and found a single vehicle, which appeared to have been involved in an accident. The driver and sole occupant, an adult white male, immediately became argumentative and uncooperative with the deputies and had armed himself with a knife,” the statement said. “Additional law enforcement officers arrived and for over an hour tried to bring the situation to a peaceful resolution.”

Deputies broke out windows and removed a knife, the agency wrote.

“The suspect rearmed himself with a rock and a second knife,” the statement said. “Deputies deployed less-lethal bean bags, and Taser with negative results. The suspect eventually tried to stab an officer and was shot.”

Glass was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is investigating, the sheriff’s office said, and a deputy has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome.

Clear Creek County District Attorney Heidi McCollum said her office is also reviewing the shooting.

“This office is required to issue a report or to present the case to a grand jury to further investigate or decide if indictments should issue,” McCollum said in a statement. “I will release my decision on the action this office will take as soon as the review process and a complete and thorough investigation is completed.”

An autopsy determined Glass died from gunshot wounds. It also showed that he had a .01% blood alcohol level and THC in his system, as well as amphetamine, which Rathod said was likely to be from a prescription to treat ADHD.

To view the article in it’s entirety, visit www.nbcnews.com