Man facing drugs charges leaps from courthouse balcony
A man facing drug charges has survived after jumping head-first from the courthouse balcony.
Christopher Clay Rudd had been scheduled to appear before a judge in Spanish Fork, Utah, on Monday after he was arrested for drug offences.
CCTV footage from the building shows the 35-year-old, who was cuffed at the wrists, stand up and walk out of the courtroom.
A second camera in a hallway then captures Rudd hurling himself over a guardrail onto a staircase, rotating in the air as he falls around 20 feet onto a tiled floor in the lobby.
Police officers are unable to catch the inmate as he drops to the ground, but apprehend him almost immediately.
Rudd reportedly suffered head and hip injuries during the fall and was later taken to hospital for treatment, although he is not thought to be in a life-threatening condition.
Police are unsure as to whether he had been deliberately trying to injure himself, or if the dive was a last-ditch bid to escape.
“It almost looks like he purposely dove right over the railing,” Spanish Fork officer Lieutenant Matt Johnson told the The Salt Lake Tribune.
Lt Johnson added Rudd’s jump was the first incident of its kind at the courthouse, although officials would now look at how police and security were positioned around the building.
He also said inmates appearing at the court would now be required to wear leg restraints.
Rudd is due to appear back at the courthouse later in May, when he may face additional charges over the balcony plunge.
