As the suspected gunman sat in the back seat of his patrol car, an Aurora police sergeant made the lifesaving decision to have officers take victims of the Aurora movie theater shootings to the hospital in their own police cars, according to testimony at a court hearing Tuesday.

Sgt. Stephen Redfearn said during the hearing that he was one of the first officers on scene at the back of the Century Aurora 16 movie theater early on July 20, 2012. The most seriously injured victims of the attack were carried out of the theater through the back entrance, and Redfearn testified that he supervised the triage of those victims.

His requests for ambulances to the back of the theater were not immediately met.

“After what seemed liked awhile, they were not getting through,” Redfearn said Tuesday. “So I decided we should start transporting victims in police cars.”

The decision is credited with getting seriously injured victims the help they needed quicker and saving numerous lives that morning. Of the 60 victims transported to hospitals after the shootings — many of them in the back of police cars — all but two were saved. One officer made four trips between the theater and hospitals.

“That’s a very courageous thing,” Dr. Frank Lansville, medical director of emergency services at Medical Center of Aurora, told The Denver Post in July 2012, for a story on the police-car medical lifts.

Redfearn’s role in the decision, though, had never been disclosed before Tuesday, the first time he has testified in court.

Much of the hearing was devoted to debate over whether statements the gunman, James Holmes, made to police after his arrest can be used against him at trial. Officers testified Tuesday that Holmes told them he acted alone and set “improvised explosive devices” at his apartment. Defense attorneys say Holmes wasn’t advised of his right to remain silent, while prosecutors say the questions were necessary to determine ongoing threats.

The judge plans to rule on the issue later.

Redfearn testified that he arrived at the back of the theater just as other officers were handcuffing Holmes. He pulled his marked patrol car up beside the officers, and they placed Holmes in the back seat. Redfearn said he did not talk to Holmes before turning his attention to helping the victims.

Holmes is charged with 166 counts in the theater attack and could face the death penalty. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Hearings in the case are expected to continue all week. The searches of Holmes’ car and computers are up for debate on Wednesday.

John Ingold: 303-954-1068, jingold@denverpost.com or twitter.com/john_ingold