The Colorado Bureau of Investigation will take over the investigation into the deadly police shooting of a Christchurch man who called 911 for help during a mental health crisis.
Christian Glass, 22, died on June 11 after being shot by police in Silver Plume, Clear Creek County, Colorado.
He had called 911 and asked the police to help him after a minor car accident.
Glass was probably having a mental health crisis at the time.
Police went to the scene and after failed attempts to get Glass out of his vehicle, tasered and shot him five times.
Glass died on the spot.
Police released a press release shortly after the fatal accident, saying Glass was shot after he became “argumentary and uncooperative” and attempted to stab an officer when police smashed a window to remove him from the vehicle.
However, his parents Simon and Sally and their lawyers have now released a series of body camera images that show a very different scenario.
There are now a number of investigations into the shooting and Glass’s family is calling on the police who shot him to face criminal charges.
Today, the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it is turning over the investigation to the CBI.
Sheriff Rick Albers said he would also work and work with Clear Creek County Commissioners “in investigations into developing a crisis response team” for the area.
“We understand there is a multitude of information regarding the June 2022 incident,” Albers said today.
“This incident is a tragedy for everyone.
“Our intent is to maintain the integrity and transparency of the investigation and we must be impartial in doing so.
“With that, it is and was our duty to transfer the investigation to an independent external agency, the CBI.”
The result of the CBI investigation is then handed over to the public prosecutor.
He said that would be done “with respect for our community”.
“It is my understanding that after an assessment, the prosecutor will decide what further action is appropriate — whether to issue a report, submit the case to a grand jury or conduct further investigation,” Albers said.
A grand jury in the US is a group of citizens authorized by law to investigate possible criminal conduct and determine whether criminal charges should be brought.
The group can call up physical evidence or call a person to testify.
It is separate from the courts.
Albers said he was unable to comment further on the matter while possible CBI and DA actions were pending.
“My office will continue to work together in every way possible,” he promised.
Glass family lawyers said, “If there had been a crisis response team in June 2022, Christian would still be alive today.”
“In the past four months since Christian’s death, the sheriff has misled the public about the facts of Christian’s murder and repeatedly condoned, vindicated and acquitted the conduct of their deputies,” the lawyers said in a statement. herald.
“None of the officers involved in Christian’s murder have been disciplined, and the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office officer who shot and killed Christian is still in uniform on the street.
“The time for ‘research and development’ is over and the nation must demand action and justice for Christian Glass.”
Glass was born and raised in Christchurch and when he was 10 his parents moved to the US.
Last month, Glass family lawyers Qusair Mohamedbhai and Siddhartha Rathod published a cache of images, reports and documents related to his death on their website.
“Christian was extremely loved by his parents, sisters, family, friends and the community,” they said in a statement.
“Christian had so much of his life left when it was tragically and unjustly taken from him in June…From start to finish, the officers escalated and proactively deployed violence…Christian, completely enclosed in his vehicle and posing no threat, was eventually surrounded by seven officers with rifles drawn.
There was no need to threaten him with violence; to draw guns; to break his car window; to fire beanbags at close range; to taser him; to shoot him.
“From the beginning to the end, the agents on the spot acted unscrupulously and inhumanely.
“These officers took a gentle, peaceful soul and just snuffed it out because it was ‘time to spend the night’… these officers, including the one who killed Christian, are still in uniform and paid no price for their behavior .”
They said what happened to Glass was “just unacceptable.”
“The Glass family is calling on law enforcement agencies in Colorado and across the country to condemn the officers’ criminal actions in this case,” the attorney said in a statement.
The Glass family further calls on the Fifth District Court, the Office of the Attorney General of Colorado and the Office of the Attorney General of the United States to prosecute these officers to the fullest extent of the law.
“Justice demands so.”
– By Anna Leask