CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Aurora Police Officer Justin Grizzle took the stand Thursday in the Aurora theater trial and was asked under oath to describe how the Century 16 theater looked when he first entered on the morning of July 20, 2012.
“It was horrendous. It was a nightmare,” Grizzle said.
“Objection, speculation,” said Dan King from the defense table.
“It looked like a war scene,” Grizzle said behind tears.
“Objection,” King repeated.
The judge overruled the objection and Grizzle continued to describe the scene left behind by a gunman who killed 12 and injured 70 others during a showing of the movie “The Dark Knight Rises.” Grizzle was one of many first-responders to provide testimony Thursday, the final day of the first week of the Aurora theater shooting trial.
Because no ambulances had yet arrived, Grizzle, a trained paramedic, said he began checking victims’ conditions and taking mental inventory of the injured. He recalled stepping over the body of a little girl, knowing she was not revivable, and later transported the girl’s injured father to the hospital in a police patrol car.
First responder: “Don’t you f—ing die on me!”
Grizzle also drove  to the hospital. Medley, who suffered severe brain damage, sat in the courtroom today in a wheelchair with his parents. Medley insisted on rising to his feet every time the jury enters and exits the room, an effort that requires the help of both his parents.
With a raised voice, Grizzle told the court that he had yelled at Medley in the back of his patrol car, “Don’t you f—ing die on me!” when the officer heard the young man “aspirating and gurgling on his own blood.” Medley was escorted out of the courtroom before Grizzle completed his testimony. Once the officer finished, Medley’s mother met him outside the doors and embraced him tightly.
Grizzle was asked questions similar, sometimes identical, to those the other officers were asked: How long have you worked for the Aurora Police Department? What time did you arrive on the scene? What was the detained suspect wearing?
The inquiries that drew the most attention from the defense and the jury, as exhibited in cross-examination and follow-up questioning, focused on the defendant’s behavior and speech at the time of his detainment.
Defendant was “fidgety” in backseat of police car
Testifying officers said James Holmes, the defendant, spoke clearly and coherently; his physical state was described as relaxed but never limp; and he was able to walk and hold himself up with ease. He was reportedly fidgety in the backseat of the patrol vehicle and expressed interest in the chaos outside, and he often looked around to watch the surrounding activity.
Also, the defendant willingly told police, “I have improvised explosive devices at my house. They won’t go off unless you set them off.”
Aurora Police Officer Jason Oviatt described the defendant as “vacant, relaxed, calm (and) disconnected.”
Members of the jury wanted to know, primarily, if the police officers deemed Holmes’ behavior as abnormal for a detained suspect or incongruent with what the officers were familiar with.
Some of the officers said it was not out of the ordinary to them, but Aurora Police Sgt. Stephen Redfearn said he couldn’t accurately answer because he’d never detained a suspect who’d committed acts of similar gravity. Dr. Max Wachtel, a Denver-based forensic psychologist, tweeted his thoughts on Holmes’ behavior as described in court this morning.
“Officer Oviatt’s description of shooter outside theater consistent with severe psychosis (other explanations possible, though),” Wachtel wrote on Twitter.
Defendant entered theater unarmed
After the lunch break, the proceedings gathered intensity. A juror requested the defendant be repositioned so she could see his face during the proceedings, but her request was denied. Soon afterward, Aurora Police Detective Matthew Ingui — the final witness on the stand for the day — was asked to describe crime scene photos of the 10 victims who died inside of the theater. Ingui also reviewed security footage that showed the defendant initially entered the theater unarmed and without ballistic gear on, which he was wearing “from head-to-toe” when he was detained.
The day concluded with an exhibition of security footage that showed throngs of people racing through the theater lobby and out the front doors.
Proceedings will continue Monday morning.
Aurora Theater surveillance footage:Â