Two Colorado mother and father say they need prosecutors to file legal expenses after their 22-year-old son was fatally shot by police throughout an obvious psychological well being disaster in June.
Physique-camera footage launched this week exhibits police breaking Christian Glass’ automobile window and a Clear Creek County sheriff’s deputy firing 5 rounds at Glass whereas he was inside his automobile.
The incident occurred after Glass referred to as 911 for roadside help within the small mountain city of Silver Plume, Colorado, roughly 45 miles west of Denver.
The case is renewing calls from advocates that police should prioritize de-escalation when responding to psychological well being crises, as a substitute of reacting with drive.
Context: Advocates say police aren’t finest suited to deal with the myriad psychological health-related calls they obtain — calls that advocates say are dialed in to regulation enforcement as a result of psychological well being providers are so missing.
As much as 50% of deadly encounters with regulation enforcement contain somebody with a psychological sickness, a 2016 research printed within the American Journal of Preventative Drugs estimated.
In Denver and New York, behavioral well being specialists are despatched to 911 callers going through crises that police is probably not educated to deal with or may even exacerbate.
What occurred in June: After Christian Glass’ June 11 loss of life, the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s workplace issued a information launch saying that Glass was shot after he turned “argumentative and uncooperative” and tried to stab an officer when police broke a automobile window to seize him.
However body-cam footage exhibits Glass pleading with officers and at one level providing to disarm himself by throwing his knives out of his automobile window.
What’s taking place now: Colorado’s Fifth Judicial District, which contains Clear Creek County, mentioned it’s investigating the case together with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. They plan to ultimately problem a report on the capturing or current the case to a grand jury, which might resolve if indictments needs to be issued.
Advocates say de-escalation was wanted
Police have not mentioned if any behavioral well being specialists have been referred to as for Glass.
Use-of-force and de-escalation specialists who reviewed the footage mentioned the case is an instance of when a behavioral well being specialist or disaster response staff — packages changing into more and more in style throughout the nation — could have helped de-escalate the scenario and avert Glass’ loss of life.
“There are some actual pink flags that counsel potential issues,” mentioned Seth Stoughton, a former police officer and main use-of-force professional who reviewed parts of the footage. Stoughton testified within the trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer who murdered George Floyd.
Siddhartha Rathod, the lawyer for Christian’s mother and father, Simon and Sally Glass, mentioned Glass had no historical past of psychological sickness.
Sen. Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat, has proposed laws geared toward serving to extra police departments create and fund groups that pair law enforcement officials with psychological well being staff.
The hassle would use present COPS grants — Group Oriented Police Providers funding — that can be utilized for all kinds of native police efforts. A lot of the cash is out there to assist communities rent extra officers or enhance faculty security.
What occurred the evening of June 11?
Physique-camera footage exhibits a sheriff’s deputy firing 5 rounds at Christian Glass after capturing him with bean bag rounds and surprising him with a stun gun.
The footage exhibits Glass refusing to return out of his automobile whereas additionally telling police he’s “terrified” and making coronary heart shapes together with his fingers to officers. At one level, he additionally may be seen praying with folded fingers and saying, “Expensive Lord, please, do not allow them to break the window.”
When the officers did break the window, Glass appeared to panic and grabbed a knife.
Police then shot Glass with bean bag rounds and shocked him with a stun gun earlier than the younger man twisted in his seat and thrust a knife towards an officer, the footage confirmed. Then one officer fired his gun, hitting Glass. The recordings then present Glass stabbing himself earlier than he died.
An post-mortem report launched by the household’s lawyer discovered Glass had THC, a .01% blood alcohol focus, and amphetamine in his system, the final of which Rathod mentioned is probably going from an ADHD prescription for Glass.
“Christian was experiencing a disaster, and he referred to as 911 for assist,” Rathod mentioned. “And but these officers busted out Christian’s window, shot him six instances with bean bag rounds, Tased him a number of instances from two Tasers, after which shot him 5 instances.”
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation handles police shootings, together with the Glass case, however the household needs prosecutors to file legal expenses, Rathod mentioned.
Household calls for accountability
At a tearful press convention Tuesday, Christian’s mom, Sally Glass, displayed a pendant of Jesus recovered from her son’s automobile engraved with the phrases, “Pray for us.”
“We have now to hope for us in America to make this a much less violent nation,” Sally Glass mentioned. “I believe lots of people now would agree that there’s a systemic drawback with policing: It’s too aggressive. They escalate at each alternative, and it appears like they’re spoiling for a combat. … They need to be defending us, not attacking us.”
Glass mentioned her son was “petrified” and “paralyzed” by concern the evening he was killed.
“I’ve a gap in my coronary heart, and it will likely be there till the day I die,” Glass mentioned.
Contributing: Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY; Related Press.
