Former deputy of the Colorado Sheriff condemned for homicide for death of men in crisis

Denver (AP)-a former deputy of the Colorado Sheriff was convicted of criminally negligent homicide on Thursday for the death of a man in danger of 22 years who called 911 for help after his car stuck in a small community in a small community of mountain.

The jury members stopped to find the former deputy of Clear Creek, Andrew good, guilty of the most serious assassination position in the second degree in the death of Christian Glass of June 2022, who attracted national attention and led Changes in the way officers are trained to respond to people in mental health crises below a $ 19 million agreement with their family.

The jury had the option of condemning good for the minor homicide position, which entails a sentence of up to three years in prison.

While the verdict was read, good stood with his head inclined, flanked by his lawyers. He was later taken to jail, where he will stay until he is sentenced on April 14.

The convictions for murder against the officers are rare, and the decision in the case of good follows a long tendency of the officers who avoid hard punishment for the actions taken while they were on duty. The jury members delivered convictions for murders against the police only nine times in the United States in the last two decades, according to criminal justice expert Philip Stinson at Bowling Green University.

The verdict on Thursday “is a typical result that we see. It is not uncommon for an officer to be convicted of a minor crime, if it is convicted,” said Stinson.

However, said Glass’s mother, he expected that he would prevent a similar tragedy from developing in the future.

“Our son was killed and we pray that today’s verdict prevents another family from suffering,” Sally Glass said in a statement.

The prosecutors alleged that good increased a confrontation with Glass, who showed signs of a mental health crisis and rejected the orders of leaving his SUV near Silver Plume, a small mining city along the interest 70 in the rocky mountains West of Denver.

The defense argued that good was legally justified in the shot glass, which had a knife, to protect an official partner.

“The murder was never the appropriate position in this case and we are grateful to all the jury members for recognizing that,” said defending lawyer Carrie Slinkard, adding that the case would have implications for the application of the law throughout the State.

This was the second trial for good. Almost a year ago, another jury condemned him for a minor crime of reckless danger to endanger other officers when opening fire, but could not reach an agreement for a murder position and a position of official misconduct. With the support of the Glass family, prosecutors decided to try it again only for second degree murder.

While prosecutors did not agree with the last verdict, the fifth prosecutor of the Judicial District, Heidi McCollum, said he holds good for the murder of Glass.

“The community could not keep this hanging there. They needed a resolution to Andrew good actions. This trial was that resolution, ”he said.

A second officer accused of Death of Glass declared himself guilty of a minor crime.

After his SUV stuck, Glass told a 911 dispatcher that he was being followed. He also made other statements suggesting that he was paranoid, hallucinating or delusional and experiencing a mental health crisis, according to the accusation of good.

When good and other officers arrived, Glass refused to leave. The video recorded by the chambers of the officers’ body showed it by making heart shapes with the hands for the officers.

The officers fired rounds of bean bags and shocked the glass with a taser, but that could not make it come out of the car. Then he took a knife that he had offered to surrender to the beginning of the match and threw it out of a rear window, which had been broken by a bean bag, towards an officer, according to the accusation. At that time, good shot him five times.

“Lord, listen to me, sir, say me,” Glass was heard saying moments before they shot him.

Sally Glass said his son had depression and was diagnosed with an attention/hyperactivity deficit disorder. She said she was “having an episode of mental health” during her interaction with the police.

The $ 19 million agreement reached in 2023 was the largest in the history of the State for a death that involved the police. Clear Creek Count, where he was shot by Glass, agreed to establish a crisis response team and for his Sheriff’s office to train and certify all the deputies in the crisis intervention.

The State, which had three officers in the murder scene, agreed to create a virtual reality training scenario for the Colorado State Patrol based on the shooting to focus on the decalciation of stressful situations that involve officers from different agencies. The program focuses on encouraging officers to intervene if they believe that an official partner goes too far or needs to get away from an incident.

Since 20005 there have been 205 cases of agents of the non -federal law arrested for murder or involuntary homicide resulting from shooting in service, according to a database compiled by Stinson and other researchers.

Of these, 68 were convicted of a crime. Nine were sentenced by murder with sentences with an average of 18 years and ranging from 81 months to life imprisonment, the researchers found. Several dozen cases are still pending.

The convictions for serious charges are rare because the jurors are reluctant to guess the decisions of the officers in second place in potentially violent meetings, said Stinson. That has not changed in recent years despite the increase in the use of police corner chambers and more public attention.

“I would have predicted a decade ago that we would see more convictions,” said Stinson. “But what we are seeing is a business as usual in the application of the law. Surveillance does not change rapidly. “

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Brown reported from Billings, Montana.