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Criminally negligent homicide typically carries a sentence
ranging from probation up to three years in prison.
Buen, a former deputy in Clear Creek County, was convicted after
a second trial. Nearly a year ago, another jury convicted him of
misdemeanor reckless endangerment for putting other officers in
danger by opening fire. However, jurors could not reach
agreement on a murder charge or a charge of official misconduct.
With the support of Glass’ family, prosecutors decided to try
Buen again for second-degree murder. Jurors also had the option
of convicting him of the less serious charge of criminally
negligent homicide.
Prosecutors alleged Buen needlessly escalated a standoff with
Glass, who showed signs of a mental health crisis and refused
orders to get out of his SUV near Silver Plume, a small, former
mining town along Interstate 70 in the Rocky Mountains west of
Denver.
The defense argued Buen was legally justified in shooting Glass,
who had a knife, to protect a fellow officer.
Convictions of law enforcement officers on more serious charges
are rare because experts say jurors tend to give them the
benefit of the doubt for how they act in emergencies, experts
say.
A police officer and two paramedics convicted in the death of
Elijah McClain in Colorado, a Black man whose name became part
of the rallying cries for social justice that swept the U.S. in
2020, also were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in
2023.
One of the paramedics additionally was convicted of
second-degree assault, which has a longer prison sentence. A
judge later freed him from prison and sentenced him to probation
instead.
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