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SPANISH FORK — Security camera footage shows a handcuffed man throw himself from the second floor of a Spanish Fork courthouse and land on the ground below after bolting from a courtroom Monday.
Christopher Clay Rudd, 35, was appearing before a judge on drug paraphernalia charges about 9:20 a.m. when he bolted from the courtroom and ran toward the door, with a bailiff on his heels, according to Utah County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Spencer Cannon.
The footage shows Rudd exit the second-floor courtroom, then run toward a balcony railing and fling himself over it. A bailiff below attempts to catch Rudd before he hits the floor but doesn't quite make it. In the footage, Rudd appears to be bleeding from his head after the fall.
Rudd told police he was attempting to harm himself, Cannon said.
On Friday, Spanish Fork Police Lt. Brandon Anderson clarified that while Rudd made statements about self-harm to officers, they do not know whether he was suicidal at the time.
Spanish Fork police officers and courtroom security personnel are looking into whether officers should be positioned differently in courtroom in the future to prevent anything similar from happening, Anderson said.
Rudd was arrested April 26 in Mapleton in connection with theft, possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person and drug-related charges.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this article showed video of the man jumping from the second-story floor. KSL.com has since removed this video.
