Milwaukee County DA: Darrell Brooks' bail 'mistake' by assistant

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm said a young assistant district attorney made a mistake in setting the $1,000 bail that allowed 39-year-old Darrell Brooks Jr. to go free days before the Waukesha Christmas parade attack.

Chisholm spoke to reporters Thursday for the first time since the attack happened.

"I’m not here to make excuses. I own any decision that’s made by any member of my office," Chisholm said.

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For the past 14 years, Chisholm has served as Milwaukee County’s top prosecutor.

"When I first ran in 2007, l made a promise to the community to identify people by risk," said Chisholm.

When an assistant district attorney charged Brooks with his second violent felony in two years, she failed to even look at his pretrial risk assessment because, Chisholm said, she was overloaded with other cases.

"You had a young ADA trying to do the very best she could under difficult circumstances, and she made a mistake," Chisholm said.

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The district attorney’s comments came after he appeared before a Milwaukee County board committee, which included one county supervisor – Patti Logsdon – whose granddaughter is still in intensive care after Brooks’ SUV into her dance troupe.

"It’s been difficult," said Logsdon. "We need to be aggressive.This has to stop."

Logsdon is one of the supervisors who called Chisholm before the committee Thursday. FOX6 Investigators asked Logsdon: Should Chisholm pay a price?

"We’re all human. We all make decisions that we regret," Logsdon said. "I do think that he should be accountable."

Chisholm brushed aside calls for his resignation.

"When things get tough, when tough things occur, the response shouldn’t be to quit, to run away from the problem. The obligation I have is to lead my people so they can continuing doing the work they do every single day, which is trying to keep people safe," he said.

Public comment was not allowed during the county board committee meeting, which was held via Zoom – a change from usual practice.