EDMONTON - A 61-year-old Morinville man has admitted driving into a city police officer and knocking him onto the hood, after being busted having sex in a parkade near a school.
Surprisingly, it is the second time the same officer has had someone drive at him in that Airport Road parkade after he interrupted their vehicular hanky-panky.
Morey Rudolph pleaded guilty to dangerous driving Friday in Edmonton's Court of Queen's Bench.
He had been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm, but was allowed to plead to the lesser crime.
A sentencing hearing is slated for May 28.
According to agreed facts, Const. Eric Wilde was patrolling the parkade on Oct. 15, 2008, as part of his duties as a school resource officer at Amiskwaciy Academy.
Wilde spotted a parked car with its engine running and saw Rudolph and a woman apparently "engaged in a sexual act" in the front seat, according to the facts.
Wilde then walked over to the driver's side of the car, identified himself as a police officer and said through the partially open window that "you can't be doing that here."
As he ordered Rudolph to shut off the engine, Wilde noted the woman scrambled to put her clothes on and saw that Rudolph's pants were around his ankles.
After the woman recognized Wilde was a police officer and said, "He's a cop," Rudolph replied, "Oh, I'm in trouble now" and then said, "Let's leave."
Rudolph reversed out of the parking stall as Wilde told him not to drive away. The officer then walked towards the car and said: "City police, stop the car."
As Wilde stood before the car and again said, "Stop," Rudolph drove forward and hit Wilde in the legs, sending him onto the hood. The officer then drew his revolver, pointed it at Rudolph and said, "Freeze or I'll shoot."
He then went to arrest Rudolph. However, the man resisted, punching the officer three times in the chest.
According to the agreed facts, Wilde hurt his right knee and right wrist and was off work for three months.
Wilde was involved in a similar incident four years earlier.
The officer tearfully testified in 2006 that he had been checking the same parkade on Feb. 11, 2004, when he saw a woman performing oral sex on a man in a parked SUV.
Wilde told court he was walking towards the SUV when the man drove straight at him and accelerated up to about 50 km/h before stopping six inches from his chest.
"I basically thought the vehicle was going to run me over, so I pulled my gun," said Wilde, choking up on the stand.
Testifying in his own defence, businessman Doug Chilton admitted he was embarrassed to be caught having sex with a prostitute, but denied trying to run Wilde over.
Chilton testified he stopped the sex act after seeing Wilde, but did not know he was a cop. He said he then began driving off while looking to the left with his arm in front of his face and stopped as soon as he saw the gun.
Chilton was acquitted of dangerous driving.
tony.blais@sunmedia.ca
