Critics are decrying bail reform measures put in place by left-wing district attorneys after Darrell Brooks Jr., who has been charged with multiple counts of murder for driving into marchers and spectators during a Sunday Christmas parade, was out on a light bond for a similar incident.
In cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and New York City, police departments are facing low morale and staffing shortages due to policies that often see career criminals like Brooks back on the streets in short order, many times to re-offend, says Betsy Brantner Smith, a retired police sergeant and spokesperson for the National Police Association.
“These extremely liberal prosecutors who want to talk about restorative justice, and what that means is is that we are putting the public in danger by trying to give these people too many opportunities to re-offend,” she said.
“It’s incredibly frustrating for law enforcement, and it’s just absolutely dangerous for our communities,” Smith added.
She noted a decision by a prosecutor in Milwaukee earlier this month to only request a $1,000 bail for Brooks, whose criminal history includes several violent incidents dating back to 1999 as well as having an active warrant for his arrest after he jumped bail for a sex crime charge in Nevada.
The retired cop went on to say that while she agreed that high bail for minor, non-violent offenses is not fair, in Brooks’ case, his criminal history warranted one: He’s been charged and convicted several times for battery and firearm violations, as well as strangulation, sex crimes, and drug charges. His rap sheet goes on for 50 pages for crimes across three states.
On Tuesday, he was arraigned in Wisconsin on five counts of murder for plowing through the parade, with prosecutors saying they expect a sixth murder charge after an 8-year-old boy has died from his injuries. A criminal complaint filed in the case said that officers testified he blew through the marchers and crowds with “no emotion on his face.”
“When we arrest somebody, especially for a violent crime, and they’re out almost immediately and then they re-offend — that wears on the absolute soul of police officers,” Brantner Smith said.
Fox News Digital reached out to several leftist prosecutors mentioned by Brantner Smith failed to respond to requests for comment, as did several others the network reached out to.
One of them — John Chisholm in Milwaukee — announced Tuesday that his office is launching a probe to see why a prosecutor only requested a small bail for Brooks earlier this month after he was arrested for punching the mother of his child and then striking her with the same SUV believed to have been used to run over parade-goers and marchers. Chisholm’s office only requested a $1,000 bail despite Brooks’ lengthy criminal history and having an outstanding warrant in Nevada.
But then, the court granted the request.
“The state’s bail recommendation in this case was inappropriately low in light of the nature of the recent charges and the pending charges against Mr. Brooks,” Chisholm’s office noted in a statement announcing the probe.
“The bail recommendation in this case is not consistent with the approach of the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office toward matters involving violent crime,” the statement added.
A Minnesota-based defense attorney who also practices in Wisconsin called the decision to set Brooks free on a thousand-dollar bond “pitiful.”
“He never should have been let out [earlier this month] because of the warrant from Nevada, but even if there wasn’t a warrant in Nevada, the bail should have been sufficient,” said attorney Mike Padden. “This could easily fall in the category of attempted murder.”
“This is so egregious that somebody should lose their job over it,” he said. “That’s how bad this is.”
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Originally from Indiana, she now calls sunny Florida her home.
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