By ANDY GARDNER

CANTON -- The Potsdam police officer and an EMT who responded to the scene of Garrett Phillips's death took the witness stand in the Oral "Nick" Hillary murder trial this morning.

Hillary is being tried for second-degree murder, accused of killing Phillips on Oct. 24, 2011 in Potsdam.

Officer Mark Wentworth said he arrived at the scene around 5:16 p.m. that day and heard quiet footsteps inside Phillips's apartment before gaining entry.

“I knocked on the door, I didn’t hear anything so I knocked again … at that point I heard footsteps from my right side … didn’t sound like they were very close to the door, they were very quiet," Wentworth said.

He said he contacted dispatch and asked them to call the building's landlord, Rick Dumas, and have him come to unlock the door.

Wentworth said after knocking a third time, he heard another strange noise from the apartment.

“I thought something hit the floor right in front of the door, just a quick little tap," he testified, adding that he got down on his knees and looked under door, but saw nothing.

Dumas opened the apartment for Wentworth, and the patrolman said he found Phillips on the floor unresponsive.

“He was young, wearing shorts, clean-cut … I noticed his knees looked a little rug burned and he had three tiny little red marks on his neck," Wentworth said.

Under cross-examination, Wentworth said he filled out a police report the next day but said he could have been more thorough.

“Would be fair to say you tried to be thorough? … Were you accurate when you filled out that report?” defense attorney Earl Ward asked.

“I could have been more thorough," Wentworth replied, but later said he didn't file a supplementary report due to error with the initial document.

Lawrence Burnah, an EMT with Potsdam Rescue Squad who responded to the scene, said he found Phillips not breathing and with no pulse, but they were able to start his heart again.

“He was not breathing, he had no pulse ... he was not responsive," Burnah said.

He said they gave Phillips three doses of epinephrine and defibrillated him, which started his heart.

“After the third round of epinephrine we put him on a backboard and we had gained a pulse back ... we transported to Canton-Potsdam Hospital," Burnah said. “We continued to ventilate for him, breathe for him because he was not breathing on his own … it was an adequate pulse."

Phillips later died at CPH.

Following Wentworth and Burnah's testimony, Judge Felix Catena declared a brief recess.