Waukesha Parade Survivors Confront Brooks At Sentencing

WAUKESHA, WI — The sentencing hearing for the man convicted of murdering six in the 2021 Waukesha Christmas parade began Tuesday with statements from the people who were most immediately impacted by the tragedy.

Among the first people to address the court on Tuesday was Sheri Sparks, the mother of Jackson Sparks. Eight-year-old Jackson was killed after Darrell Brooks dodged police barricades and rammed his SUV through the Nov. 21 holiday parade, according to prosecutors.

Six people in total were killed in the parade, including Sparks and five people associated with The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies. Dozens more were injured.

Dozens of people were expected to give statements before Brooks learns his fate on Wednesday. Each of the six first-degree intentional homicide charges he was convicted on carries a mandatory life sentence.

The hearing was interrupted Tuesday morning after someone threatened the courthouse with a mass shooting, authorities said, but proceedings resumed after 11 a.m.

You can watch the sentencing hearings life via CourtTV on Youtube.

The day of the parade was supposed to be filled with fun, laughter and smiles, Sparks explained to the court. She had spent part of that day preparing her two sons to walk alongside their baseball team in the parade, eventually settling in a seat on the route to watch them go by.

Instead, it became a nightmare.

After the SUV flew by it turned into chaos, Sparks explained. She ran to find her two boys and soon saw Jackson in the arms of a police officer. Her other son, Jackson's older brother Tucker, was also hit, she explained to the court.

Both were taken to the hospital, Sparks explained. Jackson died from his injuries just days after the parade. Tucker survived, but a vacancy remains in their family, Sparks said.

"His little brother was taken from him," Sparks told the court. "Every holiday, special event, family function, vacation, there will always be an empty space where Jackson should be.

"Sentence this man to the maximum," Sparks said. "We feel this man does not deserve to feel freedom in our lifetime, nor our son Tucker's lifetime. This man not only took Jackson away from our family, he ripped Jackson away from our lives. He only had eight years with us. He was robbed of everything."

One survivor said she was playing clarinet with the Waukesha South marching band when the SUV came through.

"I just keep moving forward but I don't know when the nightmares will go away," the Waukesha South band member told the court.

Another survivor of the parade, Tyler Pudleiner, displayed a photo of himself injured to the court and directed Brooks to look at it. Pudeleiner spoke of the community that has risen around after Nov. 21, 2021, and his process of getting back to playing the sports he loved after he was injured.

"We came back stronger than ever," Pudeleiner said.

Victim statements were set to continue into the day. Around 45 victim impact statements total were expected, according to a report by TMJ4. About nine of the people expected to speak are minors, the report said.

The anniversary of the tragedy is on Monday. A ceremony is planned to recognize the event at the Les Paul Performance Center in Cutler Park beginning at 4:39 p.m. with remarks from local leaders. Afterward, the community is encouraged to light their properties blue.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.