Some family members of victims of the 2012 Aurora theater shootings firmly endorsed findings of an after-action report that, while acknowledging certain failures, praised the official response to the tragedy.
In the chaos that night, unorthodox techniques in triage and transport almost certainly saved lives as first responders to the shooting — especially police — found themselves assuming broader-than-usual roles as traffic and miscommunication made it difficult for ambulances and medical personnel to reach the injured.
“I think they knew if they waited longer, people would die,” said Katie Medley, whose badly injured husband, Caleb, was rushed to the hospital by an Aurora police officer. “I think they made the right decision. Even if an ambulance had picked Caleb up, he would not spend that much time in the care of a paramedic. They made the right call, and saved lives because of it.”
While authorities often avoid using police in mass casualty triage, “in this case it was critically important,” the report said. It also noted that transport by police car, the most expedient option under the chaotic circumstances, also probably saved two lives.
Katie Medley figures Caleb was one.
Shotgun pellets penetrated his right eye, which he lost, and the resulting brain injury caused paralysis on his left side. He continues to make slow progress in rehabilitation.
Tom Sullivan, whose son, Alex, was among those killed in the theater, praised police officers for trusting both their training and their instincts in responding.
“Everybody had training and had commitment, and that’s what you need in those crisis points,” Sullivan said. “They saved lives. That’s what was important.”
From the crime scene to the aftermath of the tragedy, Katie Medley — one of five victims interviewed by contractor TriData for their report — has nothing critical to say of the response.
“I know it sounds weird,” she said, “but I just thought we were treated so well for this situation. In every situation it felt like we were the only people in that position. I know the cops had other people to take care of, the nurses and doctors had other people to take care of and so did victim advocacy. But when they were working with us, it felt like we were the only people. I think they treated other people that way as well. We were the priority.”
Now more than two years after the shooting, some victims are disappointed in Aurora’s ongoing outreach efforts and the to mark the tragedy. Those concerns are not reflected in the TriData report.
Katie Medley said the flow of critical relief from victim-assistance funds proved valuable in both the short and long term.
“At the time, we weren’t thinking about how well did they provide for us, but looking back, they helped us a lot, doing things so we didn’t have to deal with them,” she said. “Gas money, food cards, they made sure to take all the things off our plate they could at the time. I feel like they did a great job.”
John Ingold: 303-954-1068, jingold@denverpost.com or twitter.com/johningold
