Holland Police Department talks security ahead of Parade of Lights
HOLLAND — After the driver of an SUV hurtled through a barricade and slammed into a Christmas parade in a suburban Wisconsin community, killing at least five people and injuring more than 40, other cities in the Midwest are considering security for their own Christmas parades.
According to Captain Buursma of the Holland Police Department, the city — which is accustomed to heightened security for Tulip Time parades — is already prepared for the possibility of someone using a vehicle as a weapon.
More: Waukesha parade crash suspect faces five counts of intentional homicide
"We are aware of the incident that happened in Wisconsin," he said. "However, we already had been making preparations for security for the upcoming Parade of Lights."
Holland's Parades of Lights will begin downtown at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 30. The parade, which was canceled last year due to COVID, often brings hundreds of residents to Eighth Street to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season.
"Starting I would guess five to six years ago, we started deploying additional resources and protections around the parade routes," Buursma said. "We've got a number of blue barricades and extra measures that we use during Tulip Time that we've been extending to smaller events."
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The blue barricades are designed to stop vehicles in their tracks, versus traditional orange-and-white "roadway closed" signage.
"We'll also have officers out for the event," Buursma said. "If anybody sees anything suspicious, call 911 or notify a parade official or a police officer."
Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said Monday that Darrell Brooks Jr., 39, was fleeing a domestic disturbance with a report of a knife when he rammed into the parade. Brooks was not being chased, Thompson said. He will be charged with five counts of intentional homicide.
The dead were four women and a man ages 52 to 81. Thompson said 48 people were injured in the crash, which was captured on the city's livestream as the SUV struck a high school band, children's dance group and the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies.
— USA Today reporters contributed to this article. Contact reporter Cassandra Lybrink at cassandra.lybrink@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Instagram @BizHolland.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Holland Police Department talks security ahead of Parade of Lights
