HollyMatkinSpanish Fork, UT – A handcuffed inmate threw himself headfirst over a second-floor courthouse railing on Monday morning, and sent himself plummeting to the lobby below (video below).
Multiple security cameras throughout the courthouse captured the scene.
Christopher Rudd, 35, was sitting inside a Spanish Fort courtroom awaiting a show cause hearing “for skipping out on his rehab,” a Utah State Courts spokesman told KSTU.
He had been in custody since April 26, when he was arrested for drug-related offenses, theft, and possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person.
Rudd’s hands were cuffed in front of him, but he was not wearing any leg restraints. He could be seen scanning the courtroom just seconds before he leapt from his seat, the video showed.
He walked briskly towards the gallery area of the courtroom, and broke into a run as he pushed past the partition door and down the aisle.
While others inside the courtroom looked at each other in apparent confusion, Rudd exited into the hallway outside, planted his feet and flipped himself over a railing.
Despite a bailiff’s efforts to break his fall, Rudd crashed onto the lobby floor, and began bleeding from his head.
He never lost consciousness, and was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, the Gephardt Daily reported.
No one important was injured during the incident.
Utah County Sergeant Lance Rudd – who noted he was not related to the inmate – said he did not believe Rudd was trying to escape custody.
“He said his intent was to harm himself,” Sgt. Rudd explained.
You can watch the courthouse footage in the video below: