Preliminary Hearing of Darrell Brooks Will Lead to Trial

Following the preliminary hearing of Waukesha parade attack suspect Darrell Brooks in the Waukesha County court on Friday, Jan. 14, Court Commissioner Kevin Costello determined that there is sufficient evidence for trial.

The state called upon one witness during the hearing, Detective Thomas Casey of the City of Waukesha Police Department. Casey, who has worked in law enforcement for over 24 years, was on duty in a traffic control position for the parade when Brooks allegedly drove a vehicle through the event.

Brooks allegedly was operating a red Ford Escape when he drove through the annual Waukesha Christmas parade route on Nov. 21, 2021, leading to six fatalities and 62 other individuals injured. He is facing a total of 77 charges, including six counts of first-degree intentional homicide.

At the time of the incident, Brooks was pending on two open felony cases in Milwaukee County and had been released on bail and ordered to not commit further crimes.

Casey said he first observed the vehicle on the parade route after hearing a horn beeping. He then stepped in front of the SUV, pounding on the hood and later the driver’s side window, yelling for it to stop. He began chasing after the vehicle as it increased its speed, but it was soon out of sight. He had broadcast on radio about the encounter, requesting squads and emergency response.

“When I saw him, he was doing maybe five miles an hour,” Casey said. “When he was at the west end of the route, he was maybe going 40 or 50 miles an hour. There’s a big difference from where he started and where he ended.”

As the lead investigator in the case, Casey said he has viewed 65 files, each containing multiple video recordings of the SUV’s path that have been recovered by the Police Department. The videos were obtained from citizens, businesses and city cameras and captured the vehicle’s travel down Waukesha’s Main Street.

Casey described how in the videos it “appears that the vehicle is intentionally aiming for people” as it begins “zig zagging” through people participating in the parade, hitting them and running them over.

“At one point, there is someone on the hood of the car,” Casey said, “where the vehicle jams on its breaks and appears to have the person come off the hood of the car, and then continues driving and drives over that person.”

Casey estimated that there were about 30 police officers in uniform at the parade and said that multiple other officers had also tried to stop the vehicle. He said that one officer was in the roadway, with the vehicle coming directly toward him, causing this officer to discharge his weapon and strike the vehicle three times. The vehicle still did not stop.

Waukesha County District Attorney Sue Opper asked whether efforts were made to determine the functionality of the vehicle after the incident. Casey responded that the Wisconsin State Patrol Mechanical Inspection Unit inspected the vehicle and determined there were no defects that would prevent the vehicle from stopping or cause it to involuntarily accelerate.

During cross examination, Brooks’ attorney Anna Kees asked about the barricades and squad cars that blocked off the parade route. She asked whether some parade viewers had been sitting in front of the barricades. Casey replied that this was true in some places.

“If someone had turned from Main Street onto a cross street, they could have confronted people before getting to a barricade,” Kees said.

Officers were able to trace the SUV’s path after the parade route and found that Brooks had pulled into a driveway and driven through a backyard, ending up at 338 Maple Avenue. Brooks then got out of the vehicle and began running southbound. He was eventually taken into custody at 553 Elizabeth Street.

After Brooks’ arrest, he spent time with multiple officers, Kees said. During this time, Kees said the officers tried to interrogate him by showing him photos and videos. She said that he had repeatedly asked them to stop showing him the photos and that he had said “I didn’t mean to kill nobody.”

Kees said that one of the officers that had been with Brooks had reported that there was an odor of marijuana and that Brooks had “red, bloodshot, glassy eyes.”

If Brooks was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the incident, it would remain a felony offense, Opper said in a follow up.

Kees requested and obtained an arraignment date, on which Brooks will enter a plea. The arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 11 at 10:15 a.m.