Closing arguments begin Wednesday afternoon in the second trial of a former Clear Creek County Sheriff’s deputy charged with murdering a man who was having a mental health breakdown outside of Silver Plume.

Both sides ended their cases Tuesday, leaving the jury to decide after closing arguments Wednesday whether Andrew Buen felt a fellow responding officer was in danger as the motorist slashed at that officer with a knife from inside his vehicle during the June 2022 incident. 

In the last minutes of the evidentiary portion of a trial which has lasted for seven full days, prosecutors went through the final moments of 22-year-old Christian Glass’ life before he was shot and killed by Buen. 

The jury watched as law enforcement officers started losing patience with Glass, who refused orders to get out of his car. When officers shattered the window of Glass’ vehicle, it set off a series of events which led to his death.

After the window was breached, Buen shot Glass with six bean bag rounds. Next, Glass was tased and it was during that time that he yelled that he was going to kill everyone, according to the prosecution’s final rebuttal witness, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Derek Graham.

“He said it at the same time as he was being tased,” said Graham. 

Within seconds, Glass brandished a knife through his driver side window toward a third officer, former Georgetown Marshall Randy Williams, causing Buen to fire five rounds into the car, killing Glass. 

Graham said the chaos that followed the window breach happened because there was no plan of what to do immediately afterward. 

Last April, in Buen’s first murder trial, the jury was unable to agree on the most serious charge of second-degree murder nor on a count of professional misconduct. 

Buen was found guilty of a third charge of reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor.  

Prosecutors decided to retry the case, which started Feb. 7 in Georgetown. 

Buen’s defense team called its first witnesses after the long weekend including a police use of force expert, but then rested after lunch. 

The second defense witness, police use-of-force expert Jason Chilson, said that after over an hour and several efforts to de-escalate the situation, Buen’s use of force in killing Glass was appropriate. 

Glass’ fatal shooting, which gained national attention, occurred in June 2022 on a remote mountain road near Silver Plume just before midnight. Then-Clear Creek Sheriff’s deputies Buen and Tim Collins responded to the call for a “motorist assist.” A tense 70-minute standoff ensued, ending with Buen shooting Glass to death.

Upon questioning by defense attorney Mallory Revel, Chilson pointed out that Glass was paranoid and not acting right.

“He didn’t know where he was,” said Chilson. 

He also noted that in the seconds before Buen opened fire, Glass lurched at former Georgetown Marshall Williams with a knife and came in contact with Williams’ taser, which he said was the reason Buen started firing.

His actions were “in direct response to deadly force used by Mr. Glass, he (Buen) matched deadly force with deadly force,” testified Chilson. 

Upon questioning by 5th Judicial Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Potts, Chilson acknowledged that Buen did not shoot his firearm until Glass picked up the knife while he was in his car and “slashed out” at Williams.

Potts then challenged Chilson’s assessment that Buen was calm and reasonable with Glass that night.

“Does ‘Get out of the f(ing) car’ represent a calm and relaxed manner?” asked Potts. 

“Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t,” replied Chilson. 

Potts also asked whether it was standard procedure for then-Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Deputy Collins to jump on the hood of Glass’s car.

“Is that standard technique?” Potts asked Chilson, who acknowledged that it can be dangerous but that “in this case, it was completely OK.”

He said that it is rare for an officer to jump on a vehicle’s hood because of the risk involved if the car suddenly moved.

Glass never got out of his vehicle, though officers from four jurisdictions showed up to assist Clear Creek County Sheriff’s deputies Buen and Collins that night. Various officers tried different methods to coerce Glass out of his vehicle, even offering him food. 

Glass had called 911 for help when his 2017 Honda Pilot got stuck between two large rocks.

He spoke to the dispatcher of “skin-walkers” who might be after him and he appeared to be hyperventilating. 

While anticipating making a U-turn, he got stuck outside of Silver Plume.

“I’m far in over my head. I shouldn’t have ended up in this s*** town up in the mountains,” he told the dispatcher. 

He also told her that he loved her. 

Closing arguments are scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Wednesday and are expected to take up to two hours. The jury should have the case by late Wednesday.