Day 15 of the Waukesha Christmas Parade attack trial: Brooks stares down Dorow, gets repeatedly removed from court

Homicide suspect Darrell Brooks Jr. called his ex-girlfriend as a defense witness Friday morning as he began in earnest to present his defense, but the questioning soon went off the rails as he tried to introduce photographs he says she sent him well after the Nov. 21 Waukesha Christmas parade tragedy.

Brooks was also repeatedly removed from the courtroom for disruptions, and a break was called when he met Waukesha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Dorow with an unflinching stare-down.

Brooks, 40, has been representing himself over three weeks of trial on six counts of first-degree intentional homicide, and dozens of other counts of reckless injury and endangerment. He is charged with driving a red Ford Escape through the parade, killing and injuring participants and spectators.

The violence came minutes after Brooks is accused of striking his ex-girlfriend, with whom he shares a 15-year-old daughter, during an argument in the vicinity of the parade. She has already testified for the state and been cross-examined by Brooks. His direct examination initially covered much of the same ground about how they came to meet at Frame Park, a fight over money, her testimony that he'd struck her and her reports to police.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is not publishing the woman's name or image because she is a victim of domestic violence.

Here's what has happened so far on Day 15:

Brooks erupts after Dorow cuts off his direct examination of his ex

Brooks attempted to show her some photographs he said she mailed to him in jail, after Nov. 21. He argued it would attack her credibility because she had just testified she'd had no contact with him since that date.

The state objected. Prosecutors had never seen the photos before Friday, they said. They appeared as an attempt to cast the witness as a bad mother, and as proof she actually sent them to Brooks in jail.

Assistant District Attorney Zach Wittchow said recorded jail phone calls show Brooks had been trying to get his mother to mail such photos.

More:A history of Waukesha parade suspect Darrell Brooks' interactions with law enforcement

Brooks told Dorow the photos came in a letter. She asked if the witness had signed it. He laughed and suggested no one signs letters to inmates. Dorow asked if there was some other way he could establish it was from the witness, such as identifying handwriting. Brooks said he hadn't brought the letter with him to court.

Wittchow also brought up that even if the witness was a bad mother, that would have no impact on the credibility of her testimony about events the day of the parade.

Dorow has prohibited "other acts" evidence from the trial because it could be prejudicial against Brooks but warned him again his questioning and comments could allow prosecutors to bring it up.

Brooks became extremely agitated and disruptive at that point, leading to the early lunch break. Dorow said he'd have to retrieve the actual letter he claims came with the photos before any more argument about whether it would be admissible.

Brooks removed from courtroom twice for more disruptive behavior

Brooks began the second half of the day in an adjacent courtroom so that the jury could be brought in without interruption, Dorow said.

“It has been a rough morning, to say the least," she added.

Brooks' questions regarding how he met his ex and the child he has with her were improper, Dorow said, and his "disruptive" and "defiant" behavior prompted her to remove him from the courtroom. Dorow ultimately decided not to bring his ex back to the stand.

Brooks eventually returned to the courtroom, but his interruptions continued and he was again removed by Dorow.

Brooks then refused to call his next witness from a different room. He continued to raise his voice at Dorow in objection to his removal, eventually slamming the headphones he has used to hear the proceedings down on the table where he was seated. "All I’m asking is you present yourself with integrity, decorum and respect," Dorow said.

After a short recess, Brooks returned to the courtroom for his next witness.

Brooks claims prosecution 'coached' his witnesses; 'scared' Dorow calls for an impromptu break

Brooks called Deanna Aldrich and Christopher Bertram, two witnesses who saw the SUV that crashed through the route after the parade. Both said they saw the damaged car — Aldrich when it was stopped and Bertram when it drove by — but did not get a clear view of a suspect.

The prosecution did not cross-examine either witness, which made Brooks skeptical. “I see the whole strategy here by the prosecution," he told Dorow after she removed the jury.

He said it was apparent that the witnesses had been coached by prosecutors on how to answer his questions, which Dorow called baseless claims.

Brooks slammed the table with his fists and suddenly became silent. He fixed Dorow with an unblinking stare, his mouth turned down into a deep frown. In response, she called a break. "Quite frankly, it makes me scared," Dorow said.

Parade attendee says he saw Brooks behind the wheel

Brooks' witness Abel Laczano testified he saw someone hit by the SUV right in front of him when he attended the parade. Brooks asked him if he could see who was driving the car.

“Yeah, you're standing right there,” Laczano replied.

Earlier Friday, Brooks completed rather short direct examinations of a man who said he saw a red SUV veer through the parade staging area and speed past the first officer who tried to stop it on its way into the parade route, and the detective who had interviewed Brooks' ex-girlfriend.

Dorow abruptly ends Day 15 after Brooks' disparaging comments: 'How are you even a judge?'

Brooks' last two witnesses for the day were parade attendees Kathleen Yourell, a mother of four children who were all injured while participating in the parade, and Katrice Badbiasz, who said she was injured in the incident but "not physically."

Brooks asked them if they recalled the driver's appearance and where they were located during the parade. Yourell did not remember the driver's appearance, but Badbiasz said she looked him "right in the eyes."

During cross-examination, Yourell tearfully recounted her children's severe injuries, including multiple broken bones and her 7-year-old daughter's severe concussion.

Brooks refused to sit down during Badbiasz's cross-examination despite Dorow's instructions to stop standing out of respect for the witness. He repeatedly objected to prosecutors' questions, which Dorow overruled. “It’s always overruled," he said.

Brooks became increasingly angry during his redirect examination of Badbiasz, rolling his eyes and repeatedly asking the same questions about how she knew his name. Dorow halted his questioning because of his argumentative nature. "How are you even a judge?" he said.

In response, Dorow abruptly ended witness testimony for the day. Brooks continued to raise his voice at Dorow after the jury's removal, claiming the courtroom has "no integrity whatsoever." He was then removed from the courtroom.

Brooks has said he intends to call his mother as his last witness but as of Friday it was unclear whether that would happen. Prosecutors rested their case Thursday after more than a week and a half of testimony.

The trial is scheduled to last until Oct. 28.

Day 14 of the trialDay 14 of the Waukesha Christmas Parade attack trial: Brooks delivers a tearful opening statement

Day 13 of the trial Jurors view infamous SUV, Brooks says Dorow can't 'tell him what to do'

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Takeaways on Day 15 of Darrell Brooks Waukesha Christmas Parade trial