A Waco Police officer was brought to tears on Thursday as testimony in the first Twin Peaks Shooting Trial continued. During the trial against Dallas Bandido Christopher Jake Carrizal, Officer Ben Rush said he was called in to work that day for what he thought was easy overtime.
Rush was videotaping bikers just in case a fight broke out between the Bandido's and the Cossacks.
The jury watched dash cam video from Officer Rush's marked police car. The video starts when the Bandido's first arrive at Twin Peaks. Rush said one of the main objectives for police being there was to be seen. They were hoping their presence would deter violence.
Minutes after the Bandido's arrived, Rush got a shots fired call. He said even though there was no game plan, he grabbed his rifle and went towards Twin Peaks. Once inside, he described the gruesome scene as a nightmare.
“Guys were dead, weapons laying everywhere, blood everywhere. Just looked like a horror movie,” Rush said. “And there was music playing in the background. It was just quiet. It wasn't supposed to go like this.”
Rush told the jury once the shooting stopped and everyone was on the ground, bikers were asked to put their hands up if they were still armed. He said a lot of hands went up and police started confiscating items. Rush said it was a relief for Waco Police once other agencies showed up because the scene was too much to handle. Rush also said the scene was never under control because no one was hand cuffed or searched.
The jury also heard testimony from the police sniper who opened fire during the Twin Peaks shootout.
Officer Heath Jackson said he was in his car when he saw the first punch thrown at Twin Peaks, but couldn't tell if it came from a Bandido or Cossack. He said two seconds after seeing the fight start, he heard gun shots. Jackson told jurors that's when he kicked open the door and grabbed his rifle. He also says that's when a bullet hit his vehicle. Jackson says his rifle was in a ready position when he saw a man walking through the center of the crowd, unphased as bullets were flying all around him. Jackson said that man raised a gun and took aim at another biker.
“As I'm looking through my sights at him, I think to myself he's about to shoot someone. That’s when I made the decision. I need to end this threat right now," Jackson said.
Officer Jackson explained he could only remember shooting three bikers that day, but ballistics showed he shot four. Jackson claims during his training and experience as a SWAT officer he learned that not remembering critical incidents like what happened at Twin Peaks is just a way of your mind trying to protect you from things that are traumatizing.
While being cross-examined, Defense Attorney Casie Gotro asked Jackson if he could have dispersed the crowd by turning on his sirens. He said no, and that sirens would have been a nuisance to the bikers.