Darrell Brooks allegedly tried to kill his ex-girlfriend when he ran over her in a gas station parking lot just weeks before the deadly Wisconsin Christmas parade rampage — and he later told cops he was supposed to be on mental health medication, police reports reveal.
The new details from the Nov. 2 incident in Milwaukee are laid bare in police reports obtained after Brooks, 39, was charged in Sunday’s Waukesha attack that killed six and injured dozens, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Brooks was charged in the alleged attack on his ex-girlfriend, who is also the mother of his child — but had been cut loose on a $1,000 bond just days prior to the Christmas parade crash.
Police said they believe Brooks, a convicted sex offender, had been involved in a domestic incident with his ex-girlfriend, 31, just moments before he allegedly plowed into the paraders Sunday.
In an interview with police at the time of the Nov. 2 incident, the woman said Brooks had come to the American Inn motel where she was staying that morning before screaming at her and grabbing her phone.
A clerk at the motel had no recollection of the incident when asked by The Post on Tuesday.
The woman told cops she set off walking toward the gas station and Brooks followed her in his red SUV — the same vehicle police said was used in the Waukesha incident.
Brooks allegedly punched her in the face after she refused to get in the car, according to the police report.
She told police that’s when Brooks allegedly “tried to kill her” as he ran her over and fled.
According to the police report, the woman was found lying on the ground with tire marks on her pants. She was rushed to a hospital suffering from a dislocated femur and fractured right ankle, police said.
The ex-girlfriend later told cops that Brooks had allegedly threatened to kill her on multiple occasions, but she never reported it to authorities.
She alleged Brooks had previously tried to choke her, and was jealous and controlling.
The woman said she’d known Brooks for more than 16 years and that they’d been in a relationship since April, according to the report.
Brooks, who was arrested outside his mother’s house soon after, described the woman to cops as his longtime girlfriend.
He denied attacking her and suggested to police that she had made up the allegations because she was drunk, the report said.
Brooks also told officers he was meant to be taking medication for an undisclosed mental health issue, according to the police report.
He ended up being charged over the Nov. 2 incident with recklessly endangering safety, bail jumping, battery and disorderly conduct.
At the time, Brooks had already been let out on bail in an unrelated case after firing a gun during an argument with his nephew on July 24, 2020.
In the case involving his nephew, Brooks’ cash bail was originally set at $10,000 before being reduced to $7,500.
He was unable to pay and remained in custody as he requested a speedy trial. The court planned to proceed in November 2020 and early 2021, court records show, but amid court congestion and COVID-19-related delays, the trial didn’t happen as scheduled.
The case was adjourned and his bail reduced to $500 in February of this year because the court couldn’t honor the speedy trial demand. Brooks posted bail on Feb. 21.
His string of criminal cases — and how he was granted bail twice this year alone — have come under intense scrutiny in the wake of the Christmas parade crash.
The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office addressed the “inappropriately low” bond on Monday, vowing to investigate how it was granted given the seriousness of the charges he was facing.
During his initial court hearing Tuesday over the parade attack, Brooks was held on $5 million bail.
Prosecutors revealed during the hearing that he’ll be hit with a sixth homicide count after an 8-year-old boy died after being in critical condition since the attack.
Each homicide count carries a potential sentence of life without parole. Wisconsin doesn’t have a death penalty statute.
Comments