Video released in deputy’s killing of 911 caller

DENVER (KDVR) — A Boulder man who called 911 for help ended up dead, shot six times by a Clear Creek Sheriff’s deputy in Silver Plume three months ago.

The parents of Christian Glass held a news conference on Tuesday. They pointed out that their son wasn’t wanted for a crime — he’s the one who called for help. Now, they are demanding accountability.

“He trusted the police to come and help him. Instead, they attacked and killed him,” said Simon Glass, Christian Glass’ father.

Glass, 22, had crashed his car into an embankment late at night in June when he called 911 for help. But listen to the Clear Creek deputy moments after he arrives on the scene.

But Glass never gets out. He shows signs of paranoia and sometimes seems incoherent, and deputies are losing patience.

Law enforcement would eventually bust out a window, shoot him with bean bags six times, use a Taser against him twice, and, finally, a deputy — standing on the hood of the car — shoots Glass six times through the windshield because he said he felt Glass might stab an officer reaching through a rear window.

Before deadly shooting, trooper suggested deputies leave

“There’s a hole in my heart and it will be there till the day I die,” Sally Glass, Christian’s mother, said.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Sally Glass said if the deputy had simply let her son toss his weapons when he offered, Christian Glass would still be alive.

“I think a lot of people now would agree that there’s a systemic problem with policing. It’s too aggressive. They escalate at every opportunity, and it looks like they’re spoiling for a fight,” Sally Glass said.

During the standoff, a state trooper can be heard on his dash camera video asking what the plan is and why Clear Creek deputies don’t just leave if Glass isn’t wanted for a crime.

“If there’s no crime and he’s not suicidal, homicidal or a great danger, then there’s no reason to contact him,” the trooper says.

Another deputy called to the scene to investigate the homicide muted his body camera video during most of his investigation. The attorneys for Glass’ parents, who are expected to file a lawsuit soon, say that muting of the camera may violate Colorado’s 2-year-old police accountability law.

District Attorney Heidi McCollum, of the 5th Judicial Distrct, said she is still reviewing the case, asking for the public’s patience. She could seek a grand jury indictment.

She’s been in touch with three federal agencies about this case: the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department.