11/5/2009 8:55:23 AM

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By Janice Gregorson

Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN 

An Olmsted County jury likely will decide Thursday whether an Austin police captain is guilty of taking narcotics from the department's evidence room.

	What happened: The prosecution wrapped up its case Wednesday against Austin police Capt. Curt Rude, who's accused of removing drugs from an evidence room. Rude testified he was trying to learn about the drugs to warn others of their dangers. What's next: Attorneys are expected to make their closing arguments Thursday, and then the case goes to the jury.

For Capt. Curt Rude, 50, the stakes are huge.

He is on trial, charged with felony theft and felony fifth-degree controlled substance crime for allegedly being in possession of OxyContin, a narcotic. He also faces a gross misdemeanor charge of interfering with property in official custody.

If convicted of a felony, he would lose his police license. He also would have to resign from the Austin School Board. He was elected to the board on Nov. 6, 2007, the day he was accused of taking the drugs.

Authorities say Rude illegally took two bottles of OcyContin, a prescription painkiller, from a 55-gallon barrel in the police department's evidence room. The barrel contained evidence from closed cases that was to be destroyed.

Rude says he did nothing wrong. During hours of testimony Wednesday, he told jurors he had access to the evidence room and routinely took items from what he called the "burn barrel" without signing them out. He said he used drugs from closed cases for school presentations and television reports. He said there's no department policy that requires items to be signed out from the burn barrel.

Chief's view

On Tuesday, Austin Police Chief Paul Philipp testified that evidence removed from the burn barrel must be signed out to keep track of it.

Rude testified Wednesday that he took the OxyContin but didn't take it out of the police department and never intended to take it out of the building. He said he planned to research the drug to find out what had killed his friend, Mark Johnson, a KAAL-TV reporter who died of an overdose seven months earlier. The drugs were from a criminal case involving Johnson.

Rude has been on unpaid leave since shortly after the alleged misconduct was discovered. He now works as an over-the-road trucker.

Rude is charged in Mower County, but the case is being prosecuted by an assistant Olmsted County attorney, Ross Leuning, and heard by an Olmsted district judge, Kevin Lund, to avoid any conflict of interest since Rude is an Austin city employee. The trial was moved to Rochester on a defense motion for a change of venue.

Leuning wrapped up his case with testimony from Kenneth McDonald, a special agent with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, who investigated the allegations against Rude at Philipp's request.

McDonald said he interviewed other officers and Rude. Jurors listened to the tape of the 75-minute interview with Rude on Nov. 13, 2007.

Rude testifies

On the tape and when he testified Wednesday, Rude admitted to taking the pill bottles from the burn barrel.

In the interview, Rude told McDonald that he went into the evidence room for another purpose, was drawn to the burn barrel by a decorative ax on top and saw the pill bottles with Mark Johnson's name on them.

"I had no idea that would be there on top of the barrel," Rude said. He said he stared at them for a while and that he was emotionally raw from Johnson's death, the stress of his school board campaign and a family illness.

"Why did you take them?" McDonald asked.

"I don't know. I put them in my pocket," Rude replied. He said he went to a nearby training room and kitchen, took the pill bottles out of his pocket, tore open the evidence bag and looked at the pills. He said it was the first time he had seen OxyContin.

Again McDonald asked, "Why did you take the pills?"

McDonald asked Rude if he was using drugs or planned to give them to someone. Rude said no.

McDonald asked Rude if he thought what he did was wrong. Rude said the pills were going to end up back in the burn barrel and that he wanted to find out what had killed his friend.

McDonald said Johnson died of an overdose of heroin, not OxyContin.

In the interview and in his testimony Wednesday, Rude admitted that he initially lied about taking the drugs when confronted by the police chief.

"In my mind's eye, I only lied for a few seconds," he told McDonald.

During his testimony, questioned by his attorney, Peter Wold of Minneapolis, Rude said his intent always was to research the drug, learn about it and share the information with others.

"Are you guilty of any of the charges?" Wold asked.

"I am not," Rude said.

He testified that when he took the pills, he didn't have a "road map" about what he was going to do.

"I reached out, took those pills and thought I could be a better cop and learn and share the knowledge."

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