Terribly sad
A man was shot by a police officer after calling 911 for help with his car.
At 11.21pm on 10 June, Clear Creek’s County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from a motorist, 22-year-old Christian Glass, in need of help in Silver Plume, Colorado.
Christian, a chef and artist, said during his 911 call that his car had “got stuck in a really bad way” and that he needed help.
During the phone call he said he had two knives, a hammer and a rubber mallet in the car which he said he could throw out of the car when officers arrived to make them feel safe.
However, and according to the police statement, Christian “immediately became argumentative and uncooperative” when police arrived to the scene.
He was hit with beanbags, tasered and eventually shot dead at the scene after a situation which lasted for more than an hour.
The situation, which lasted for over an hour, ended with Christian “eventually tried to stab an officer and was shot”, Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The autopsy report into Christian’s death said he received five gunshot wounds to the chest and one to his right arm, with the coroner ruling that his death was a homicide caused by the gunshot wounds.
However, lawyers representing the Glass family allege that “from beginning to end, the officers escalated and proactively initiated force”.
In a statement, they insisted there was “no need’ for the officers to threaten Christian or use force, arguing that ‘the officers on the scene acted unconscionably and inhumanely”.
The Glass family lawyers shared bodycam footage from the officers which shows Christian’s car for more than an hour as he asks them to pull him out of his predicament.
Christian could be seen in the clip praying for them not to break his windows, and at other times the video shows Christian repeatedly making the heart sign at officers on the scene.
The video later shows Christian being shot multiple times and his body being removed from the car.
The office of district attorney Heidi McCollum released a statement on the investigation into Christian’s death saying they were “working diligently to thoroughly review the evidence in this case”.
The statement also said it was “not in the interests of justice and fairness” to rush proceedings and get to a quick resolution.
The document concludes with them writing: “The Deputy involved has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.”
JOEMedia has contacted Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office for further comment.
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