The parents of a young Kiwi killed by US police describe the settlement of their case against authorities as "a vindication".
Christian Glass, 22, born in Christchurch, was shot by police in Colorado last year while suffering a mental health crisis.
The settlement announced yesterday will see the Glass family receive a $30 million settlement from the US government and local agencies, while changes will also be made to how officers in Clear Creek County are trained.
The officer who killed Christian and the officer's supervisor are both being prosecuted.
Christian Glass was shot last year while suffering a mental health crisis. (Source: 1News)
Simon and Sally Glass, Christian's parents, spoke to Breakfast from Denver this morning.
"It is a vindication of Christian," Simon said.
"The initial story was that he essentially caused his own death by attacking police officers and they had to defend themselves.
"Now we know the truth, and now the agencies involved have admitted the truth.
"The overall goal here is to avoid this happening again to another family."
Sally said the size of the settlement reflected the "seriousness and the hideousness of this crime".
She said the non-economic terms were "in a way much more valuable" than the money.
"Our son was brutally murdered when he didn't do anything wrong," she said, describing Christian's death as "a tragedy".
Simon added that the pair "continue to suffer" and struggle with sleep, among other things.
"This is not something you get over any time soon," he said.
"We hope that the training and perhaps some better hiring will actually make a difference."
'Dear Lord, please, don't let them break the window'
Christian Glass was killed in his vehicle last June. He had called 911 for roadside assistance.
When his car became stuck on a dirt road, Christian initially told the dispatcher that he was being followed and made other statements which the indictment said showed he was paranoid, hallucinating or delusional and experiencing a mental health crisis.
Officers' body camera footage showed Christian refusing to get out of his car, making heart shapes with his hands to officers and praying: "Dear Lord, please, don't let them break the window."
After roughly an hour of negotiations, officers decided to breach the car even though there was no indication that Christian posed a danger or was suspected of a crime, according to the grand jury.
Once the window was smashed, body camera footage shows officers peppering Christian with bean bag rounds, then tasing him.
Christian brandished a knife in "a state of complete panic and self-defence" before twisting in his seat to thrust the knife in an officer's direction, according to the grand jury. One of the officers then fired his gun five times into Christian.
The grand jury found that at no point was the other officer in "imminent danger of being stabbed by Mr Glass".
Body camera footage doesn't show officers from other agencies — including the Colorado State Patrol and police from the nearby towns of Idaho Springs and Georgetown — attempting to stop the breach of the vehicle.
When Christian's parents first publicly called for accountability for their son's death last year, Sally Glass said Christian was "petrified" the night he was killed and the officers had no empathy for him.
"They should be protecting us, not attacking us," she said.
'It could happen here'
Christian's grandfather Jim Glass expressed concern about the mental health of many New Zealanders.
"I think there's an awful lot of young people particularly who are not in a good space," he said. "And I think the police need to be aware.
"I think New Zealand could perhaps learn from this instance in the States... It could happen here."
Jim said he would like to see a greater focus on mental health awareness in police training here.
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