DENVER (AP) — On Thursday, a former deputy sheriff from Colorado was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide for the fatal shooting of a 22-year-old man in distress who had reached out to 911 after his car became immobilized in a small mountain town.

The jury refrained from convicting ex-Clear Creek County Deputy Andrew Buen of the more serious charge of second-degree murder in the June 2022 death of Christian Glass, which captured national interest and prompted changes in police training for mental health crises under a $19 million settlement with the victim's family.

The jury opted to convict Buen on the lesser charge of homicide, which can result in a prison sentence of up to three years.

As the verdict was delivered, Buen stood with his head lowered, surrounded by his legal team. He was subsequently taken into custody, where he will remain until his sentencing on April 14.

Convictions of murder against officers are uncommon, and the outcome in Buen’s case aligns with a long-standing pattern where officers often avoid severe penalties for actions taken while on duty. According to criminal justice expert Philip Stinson at Bowling Green University, juries have handed down murder convictions against police officers only nine times in the U.S. over the past 20 years.

Thursday’s verdict “reflects a typical result. It's not unusual for an officer to be convicted of a lesser charge, if convicted at all, in these situations,” said Stinson.

Nevertheless, Glass’ mother expressed hope that the verdict would prevent future tragedies of a similar nature.

“Our son was murdered, and we hope that today’s verdict helps prevent another family from enduring what we have,” Sally Glass said in a statement.

Prosecutors argued that Buen unnecessarily escalated a standoff with Glass, who was showing signs of a mental health crisis and disobeyed commands to exit his SUV near Silver Plume, a small former mining town along Interstate 70 in the Rocky Mountains west of Denver.

The defense contended that Buen was legally justified in shooting Glass, who was armed with a knife, to safeguard a fellow officer.

“Murder was never the appropriate charge in this case, and we appreciate the jurors for acknowledging that,” said defense attorney Carrie Slinkard, noting that the case would have ramifications for law enforcement across the state.

This marked the second trial for Buen. Nearly a year earlier, a different jury found him guilty of misdemeanor reckless endangerment for endangering other officers by opening fire, but they could not reach a decision on the murder charge and a charge of official misconduct. With the backing of Glass’ family, prosecutors chose to retry him for second-degree murder alone.

Although prosecutors were not entirely satisfied with the latest verdict, Fifth Judicial District Attorney Heidi McCollum stated that it holds Buen accountable for Glass’s death.

“The community could not be left without resolution regarding Andrew Buen’s actions. This trial provided that resolution,” she said.

A second officer involved in Glass’ death had previously pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.

After his SUV became stuck, Glass informed a 911 dispatcher that he was being followed. He also made other remarks suggesting paranoia, hallucinations, or delusions, indicating a mental health crisis, as outlined in Buen’s indictment.

When Buen and other officers arrived, Glass refused to exit. Body camera footage showed him making heart shapes with his hands toward the officers.

The officers used bean bag rounds and a Taser on Glass, but he still did not leave the vehicle. He then took a knife he had initially offered to surrender and tossed it out a rear window, which had been shattered by a bean bag, towards an officer, according to the indictment. At that moment, Buen fired five shots at him.

“Lord hear me, Lord hear me,” Glass was heard saying just before he was shot.

Sally Glass mentioned that her son suffered from depression and had been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. She stated he was “experiencing a mental health episode” during his interaction with the police.

The $19 million settlement reached in 2023 stands as the largest in state history for a police-related death. Clear Creek County, where Glass was shot, agreed to form a crisis response team and mandate crisis intervention training and certification for all deputies in its sheriff’s office.

The state, which had three officers at the scene of the shooting, committed to developing a virtual reality training scenario for the Colorado State Patrol based on the incident to emphasize de-escalation in tense situations involving officers from various agencies. The program aims to encourage officers to intervene if they believe a fellow officer is overstepping or needs to step back from a situation.

Since 2005, there have been 205 cases of nonfederal law enforcement officers being arrested for murder or manslaughter stemming from on-duty shootings, according to a database compiled by Stinson and other researchers.

Of those, 68 were convicted of a crime. Nine received sentences for murder, with the average sentence being 18 years, ranging from 81 months to life, according to the researchers. Several dozen cases remain pending.

Convictions on serious charges are infrequent because jurors tend to hesitate to second-guess the quick decisions officers must make in potentially violent situations, Stinson explained. This trend has persisted despite increased use of police body cameras and heightened public scrutiny in recent years.

“I would have expected more convictions a decade ago,” Stinson remarked. “But what we’re witnessing is business as usual in law enforcement. Change in policing is slow.”