The roads in Colorado’s Clear Creek County were dark and rocky when Christian Glass, a gentle 22-year-old with a passion for art and geology, got his car stuck and called 911, sounding increasingly scared and upset as he spoke with a dispatcher. Seven officers from five agencies responded on that June 2022 night, gathering around Christian’s car and trying various methods to get him to exit it.
He said he was afraid but offered to throw out of the vehicle anything that could be considered a weapon, such as a small geological knife he’d mentioned to the dispatcher; Christian was told not to. Instead, officers repeatedly joked and laughed with Christian and each other until, more than an hour after officers arrived on scene, the situation rapidly escalated — culminating in Christian’s fatal shooting.
