The Waukesha Rampage The suspected assailant was free on a $1,000 bond despite recent charges of violence.
We’ll learn more in the coming days about the man who police say drove a red SUV through a crowd at a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wis., on Sunday, killing five and wounding at least 48. But based on what we already know, the awful rampage is likely to trigger a debate about rising crime and the progressive drive for bail reform and reduced incarceration.
Police say 39-year-old Darrell Brooks faces five counts of intentional homicide, and more lives are in jeopardy in area hospitals. The dead include members of the Dancing Grannies, a fixture at the annual parade and other Milwaukee-area events. Eighteen children were admitted to a local children’s hospital and trauma center, including 10 in intensive care.
Mr. Brooks has a long rap sheet, and the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office said Monday he had been out on a $1,000 bond after he allegedly tried to hit the mother of his child with his vehicle. He was arrested the same day and charged with obstructing an officer, endangering public safety, disorderly conduct, jumping bail and battery. Why was someone with that violent history released on such a minor bond?
The D.A.’s office said it is conducting an internal review of the bail decision, which sounds like ex post self-protection. “The state’s bail recommendation in this case was inappropriately low in light of the nature of the recent charges and pending charges against Mr. Brooks,” said the D.A.’s office in a statement. The Milwaukee County D.A is John Chisholm, a Democrat who readers may recall for his office’s unjustified pursuit of donors to former Gov. Scott Walker’s campaigns.
Bail reform has been a leading cause of the progressive left in recent years, and Democratic prosecutors have often gone along. New York State has passed bail reform that has had the effect of letting many felons back on the street to commit more crimes. The influence of the progressive bail campaign on Mr. Chisholm’s office should be part of the probe.
Meanwhile, other brazen crimes across the country are getting national attention. Dozens of looters descended on a Nordstrom store in Walnut Creek, Calif., in a mass robbery that overwhelmed security. A spokesperson said one employee was pepper-sprayed and two others were punched and kicked. An organized looting spree in San Francisco’s Union Square literally stripped the shelves of goods at tony retailers. More weekends like this one, and the backlash against lax prosecutors and misguided laws will build as a political issue.
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