WAUKESHA, Wis. — Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly said he watched maybe 15 to 20 minutes of the Darrell Brooks trial. 

"There was nothing pleasurable about watching that trial, other than knowing what the end result was going to be," Reilly told reporters Thursday. 

That end result was six consecutive life sentences for Brooks, plus more than 700 additional years in prison. Reilly called it a "foregone conclusion," but said it was an important step for the community.

“The community experienced major, major trauma, and we need to continue working on healing," Reilly said. 

Another part of that healing, Reilly said, is holding the Christmas parade this year on Dec. 4.

“I know that we’re doing everything we can to make this safe," Reilly said.

The city changed the parade route; Police Chief Dan Thompson said planning for any sort of event like a parade has changed. 

"In moving forward, the public can know they’re going to be safe and secure in those areas because we are going to have the vehicle barriers," Thompson said. "We are going to have more presence of law enforcement, and we are going to have other support networks in place to help us.”

Thompson said in addition to victims who were killed or physically hurt, he said his officers and other first responders have dealt with a lot of trauma. It’s something he said a lot are still dealing with. 

Spectrum News 1's Andrew Havranek asked Thompson what he tells those officers, and the officers who took the stand and were questioned by Brooks himself. 

“What I told them there [that night], and I tell them again today, is that I loved each and every one of them and where they were at that moment, is where God intended them to be, and when they testified, God is with them," Thompson said. "That’s exactly what I told them.” 

Monday marks one year since the parade tragedy. At 4:39 p.m. — the moment Brooks drove through the parade — there will be a remembrance ceremony in Cutler Park. The mayor, police and fire chief, Gov. Tony Evers and a priest with the Catholic Communities group will speak at the ceremony. 

There will be a moment of silence, and the event will end with a song.

A Night of Lights event is set to take place on Dec. 2. The mayor said that might be a good event for some families who are too emotional to be on Main St. for the parade. Most of A Night of Lights will be along the river. 

The city is also planning to build two memorials. 

One memorial will be on Main St. The other will be in Grede Park. The mayor said the one on Main St. will be finished around this time next year. The Grede Park memorial will take two years to complete. 

However, the city still needs money to build the memorials. To learn more on how to donate, click here.