Aurora theater-shooting suspect James Holmes was held for “several days, frequently in restraints” at a Denver hospital in November after authorities said he was in need of immediate psychiatric help, according to a motion filed by Holmes’ attorneys.

The Nov. 15 hospitalization was the second one for Holmes in a week, following an incident where he was rushed to the hospital for banging his head into a jail wall.

Friday’s motion provides a rare glimpse into the mental-health evidence that could emerge after Tuesday, when Holmes is scheduled to enter a plea. His attorneys have said they are contemplating an insanity defense.

According to the motion, Arapahoe County lawyers said Holmes was in need of an emergency psychiatric evaluation because he was “a danger to himself at the detention center.” Their request made reference to laws that allow a person to be placed on 72-hour mental-health holds when he or she “appears to be an imminent danger to others or to himself or herself or appears to be gravely disabled.”

The request in November was made by lawyers representing the Arapahoe County administration, not prosecutors.

Holmes’ second November hospital trip had not previously been disclosed. The case’s register of action makes no mention of the county’s request, though it does show a sealed order entered Nov. 15.

According to the Friday filing by Holmes’ attorneys, Holmes was taken by ambulance to Denver Health Medical Center on Nov. 15. While there, he was recorded by closed-circuit video cameras, and the tape was given to the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office. But according to the filing, Sheriff Grayson Robinson has refused to release the tape to prosecutors and defense attorneys.

In their filing, Holmes’ attorneys ask for a court order requiring the Sheriff’s Office to preserve the video or turn it over to the court. Late Friday, 18th Judicial District Chief Judge William Sylvester ordered the Sheriff’s Office not to destroy the video while attorneys argue over whether the tape should be given to prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Details of the November psychiatric hold add to a fragmented view of Holmes’ mental state before and after the shootings. For instance, a detective testified during Holmes’ preliminary hearing that he watched Holmes make bizarre puppet gestures after the shootings with paper bags that were placed over his hands to preserve evidence.

But other testimony during the hearing detailed the meticulous planning that prosecutors allege Holmes put into the attack, culminating with photos he took of himself and his weapons just hours before the shootings.

If Holmes does launch an insanity defense, the first step will be for him to receive an independent mental-health evaluation.

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