Six people were reportedly killed when a man is accused of driving into a crowd during a Wisconsin Christmas parade. He later apologized to the families of the deceased and the court for his erratic conduct last week.
After many disruptions, outbursts, and a fight with the judge, Darrell Brooks, 40, was expelled from the courtroom on Thursday. However, he later showed up naked while livestreaming in from a separate room.
However, a different Darrell Brooks showed up in court on Monday. This individual had abandoned the jailhouse orange and was now fully attired in a suit, with a mask securely fastened over his face. He maintained his composure as he apologized, saying, “I wasn’t raised that way.”
On November 21, 2021, Brooks is suspected of ramming his automobile into the Waukesha, Wisconsin Christmas parade, killing six people between the ages of 8 and 81 and wounding over 60 others in the process.
Since last week, when he sought that Judge Jennifer Dorow remove his public lawyers, Brooks has been representing himself in court.
He has been interrupting the judge ever then. On Thursday, he was evicted shortly after getting into an argument with the judge over the latter’s choice to dress in prison garb in the courtroom.
When witness testimony started on Monday morning, a somber Brooks entered the courtroom and said he wanted to apologize to the judge for his behavior last week.
For the record, I simply want to say that I would want to formally apologize to the court for my behavior during the trial last week,’ Brooks said.
‘I just want the court to realize that it’s really emotional right now, not only for the entire issue of the trial, but also for the families here who have to deal with, you know, everything that’s going to be associated with the trial,’ she said.
It’s quite emotional for my family and for myself as well. But that’s not a justification for what I did, and I need to treat people with more respect. I did not grow up that way. I also owe an apologies to you, your honor, and the court.
And I want to get up as a man and tell the whole court, as well as you, your honor, I want to apologize to the bailiffs for my behavior, Brooks added. That’s not how I was raised, as I indicated. I had a Christian upbringing. I was not brought up that way by my mum. She did not raise me to behave out of annoyance, rage, or frustration.
And I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m sorry for my behavior and that I’ll do my best to behave respectfully at all times, even in front of the court.
And I only wanted to let you all know that. Everyone present—the defense, the judge, the bailiffs, the clerks, the reporters, and the crowd. I only wanted to let you all know that.
On Thursday, Brooks’ constant outbursts caused delays in the opening comments and witness evidence.
When Brooks was sent to another courtroom, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Dorow indicated that she would not back down despite Brooks’ efforts to create a “mockery” of the procedures.
Once there, he removed the shirt off his prison uniform and sat on the defense table facing away from the camera. He was making hand motions and poking the table with his finger.
She said, pointing to a video feed showing Brooks with his shirtless back to the camera, “It is very clear to this court that everything that he has done as outlined by the state and as made evident to the court of this proceeding that it is the sole intent of Mr. Brooks to make mockery of this process.”
It’s critical that this case continue in the legal system. Because of Mr. Brooks’ belligerent acts, no one else is allowed to speak in this courtroom at this time, she noted.
In the other courtroom, Brooks could be seen frantically gesticulating, fighting with court security, and putting up his objection sign to everything Judge Dorow said while keeping his microphone muted unless when called upon to speak or respond to questions.
After the court muffled his microphone, Brooks at one point tucked a laminated placard that said “objection” inside the waistline of his orange prison garb.
Sue Opper, the district attorney for Waukesha County, claimed that despite his outbursts, Brooks was capable of standing trial.
She said, “I’m completely persuaded he is 100 percent able to continue to trial.” At no point has anybody in this case had a competence issue. We firmly believe that his actions are purposeful and int
entional. He’s striving to stop these things from happening.
Judge Dorow endorsed Opper’s analysis.
The judge said, “I share your thoughts,” adding that she believed his actions were only an act of “defiance” rather than an indication of bad mental health.
He was expelled from the courtroom on day three of the Brooks trial as he urged the judge to postpone the trial on the grounds that he had COVID-19, according to his allegations.
He was dismissed on the second day after frequently disrupting the jury selection process, reading lengthy portions of the bible, and then seeming to nod off during the video stream from the other courtroom.
He was also dismissed on the first day due to his disruptive actions during jury selection.
On November 21, 2021, Milwaukee native Brooks was detained after being apprehended close to the attack’s location.
According to the prosecution, Brooks purposefully plowed his automobile over police barriers and into the spectators watching the annual parade in Waukesha, which is located about 15 miles west of downtown Milwaukee.
After reportedly approaching a lady outside of a hotel before the procession, Brooks charged into the throng.
According to law enforcement sources, the accused went back and ran over that lady as well as punching her in the face.
After Brooks reportedly sped into a gathering of people during a 2021 Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, a first responder was observed investigating the area.
Following the horrific event in 2021 that resulted in the deaths of six individuals and the injuries of several more, people congregated in Waukesha.
At the site, where more than 60 people were hurt and six of them died, a stroller was abandoned.
The victims’ ages varied from 8 to 81, and more than 60 other individuals were hurt, at least 18 of them were children.
If found guilty of the most severe allegations, Brooks, who was out on bail from a domestic violence charge at the time of the incident, could spend the rest of his life in jail.
The individual has a long criminal history that began with his first arrest in 1999 for aggravated violence and carrying a concealed weapon.
He has had at least 15 further run-ins with the authorities since then.
Multiple accusations of impeding an officer, drug possession, paternity warrants, failing to appear in court, and other offenses have been brought against Brooks.
In 2010, he was accused of domestic violence, strangling, and suffocation, among other violent offenses.
The Waukesha County district attorney’s office expects to invite some of the hundreds of witnesses to testify. Some of these witnesses recorded the incident on their cellphones.
Although Dorow has cautioned Brooks that the court would not accept willful acts of obstruction, the Journal Sentinel stated that Brooks’ choice to defend himself may cause the trial to go longer than expected.
The problems raised in court this week were not the first ones in this trial, either.
In an appearance on August 26, Brooks repeatedly dozed off before ranting at Dorow, according to WISN.
She was standing with her arms crossed when he replied, “You sit up here and pretend like you know me.”
People like you have no idea where I came from, the speaker said.
Additionally, Brooks was overheard complaining that the proceedings were “boring” and yelling at the sheriff’s officers who were escorting him out the courtroom on the orders of Judge Dorow.
The accused proceeded to abuse the court verbally while labeling the case as “political.”
Brooks once expressed to Dorow his desire to leave the situation and go back to his cell.
In February, Brooks entered a not-guilty plea.
His lawyers, public defenders Anna Kees and Jeremy Perri, submitted a request in April asking to delay the case at least until March 2023.
In their application, the lawyers said they needed at least six months to evaluate more than 300 films of the procession, analyze the SUV’s speed during the event, examine Brooks’ police interview, and contact relevant expert witnesses.
At one point, Brooks pled not guilty due to a mental illness, but he then retracted it without giving a reason and pleaded not guilty instead. Prior to the trial, psychological assessments revealed his competency.