Day One of Austin Police Captain's Trial
ROCHESTER---Fellow workers took the stand Tuesday in the trial of a suspended Austin police captain.
Captain Curt Rude is charged with illegally removing a prescription painkiller from the police evidence room.
In the prosecution’s opening statements, Attorney Ross Leuning told the fourteen member jury that they would be hearing from witnesses stating the facts of the case.
He instructed the jury that it's up to them to apply what they hear, to the laws.
Rude's lawyer, Peter Wold, said the context of the case is important to understanding what happened on November 6, 2007.
On that day, Rude allegedly took two bottles of the prescription drug OxyContin from the Austin Police Department evidence room. The bottles had the name Mark Johnson on them.
Johnson, a reporter at KAAL-TV, died of an OxyContin overdose in 2007, and was a close friend of Rude’s.
On Tuesday the jury heard from five witnesses, all Austin police officers, including Chief Paul Philipp.
They were were shown pictures of the evidence room, and a major point discussed was who had authority to access the room and proper procedure for obtaining evidence.
Rude's trial is expected to last the entire week.
KIMT News 3 will be in the court room every day for complete coverage.
