CINCINNATI — The tragedy that unfolded late Sunday afternoon during a Christmas parade in suburban Wisconsin brings back harrowing memories for members of the Cincinnati Police Department.

At 4:39 p.m. CST Sunday, a red SUV barreled through police barriers and sped into the roadway where a parade was taking place in Waukesha, Wisc. The incident left at least five people died and 48 others injured.

On Monday, Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson identified the suspect as Darrell Brooks, 39 of Milwaukee. Police said they are recommending five counts of intentional first-degree homicide.

Investigators believe Brooks was involved in a domestic incident prior to the parade incident.

Officials from the Cincinnati Police Department released a statement Monday offering "thoughts and prayers” to the families of the individuals killed or injured in the incident.

For many veterans of CPD, the events of this past weekend brought back memories of a horrifying situation that took place more than 20 years ago during Oktoberfest Zinzinnati.

At around 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 19, 1999, Michael Cowperthwaite, then 25, was spotted driving recklessly — sometimes traveling in the wrong direction on one-way streets — through downtown Cincinnati. He drove through two festival barricades on Main Street and struck a police officer and 26 other people before colliding with an oncoming taxi cab near Fourth Street, according to a report from WCPO-TV.

No one was killed.

Cowperthwaite was intoxicated at the time. He served seven and a half years in prison.

In a message to media, the Cincinnati Police Department said their special events team learned "valuable lessons from these unfortunate tragedies.” They shared some of their safety measures they have in place to help maintain control of large-scale events and protect those in attendance.

The department now uses reinforced barricades at event sites. They also installed steel and concrete bollards around The Banks, a popular site for special events. That's where the Taste of Cincinnati takes place as does the current iteration of Oktoberfest Zinzinnati.

CPD said when possible, they look to increase the buffer zone between blockades. They also tow unauthorized vehicles from event zones and restrict all vehicle movement within those designed areas.

The city of Cincinnati will often operationalize the Regional Operations Center during major events such as the Oktoberfest. Multiple city departments are present, including police and fire. The room features large monitors that allow CPD to monitor the situation in real-time using the city’s safety cameras.

CPD said they regularly review their safety strategies to look for areas of improvement.