A man died Wednesday afternoon after Madison, Wisconsin police officers tased and then shot him during a struggle at a busy downtown intersection, an incident caught on video by bystanders and drivers who stopped their cars to film the encounter. Protesters identified the man as Corey Ruiz, and by that evening hundreds had gathered at the scene, later marching downtown and disrupting a concert on the city square while chanting his name.
Police Chief John Patterson addressed reporters Wednesday, acknowledging the weight the shooting carries for the surrounding Willy Street neighborhood given the history of past officer-involved deaths in the area. According to Patterson, officers were initially responding to a report of someone checking parked vehicles.
The man fled on a bicycle through nearby backyards before officers lost sight of him, then caught up with him again later. At that point, Patterson said, the man came off the bicycle, either falling or being pulled off by officers, and a struggle followed.
Patterson said the man pulled out a fixed-blade knife during the confrontation, injuring one officer, who then fired multiple shots. He described that officer as an experienced member of the department and said he was the only one of the four officers involved who discharged a weapon. Footage circulating online appears to show an officer stomping on the man while he was on the ground around the time the first shot was fired.
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The Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation has taken over the case, as state law requires officer-involved shootings to be reviewed by an outside agency. That process can stretch on for weeks or months before a local district attorney decides whether charges are warranted, decisions that are rarely made against officers in Wisconsin. Citing the active investigation, Patterson declined to answer detailed questions about the shooting.
He noted that Madison police do not currently wear body cameras, something he has been pushing to fund in next year’s city budget, and said the man’s family had been notified before he spoke publicly, offering his condolences to them.
The shooting quickly became a flashpoint in Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary. State Rep. Francesca Hong noted the shooting occurred near her campaign office and close to where police killed Tony Robinson in 2015, calling herself horrified and devastated and urging that all police footage be preserved and released, along with a public accounting of why officers weren’t able to de-escalate the situation.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said the reports echoed past tragedies in Kenosha and Minneapolis, and stressed the ongoing need for greater trust and accountability in policing. Fellow candidate Joel Brennan called for a full and independent investigation, saying families and communities shouldn’t be left waiting to learn the truth.
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State Sen. Kelda Roys urged the community to support Ruiz’s family, called for accountability under Wisconsin law, and argued that the scale of police violence seen in the U.S. isn’t something other countries tolerate or that Americans should accept as inevitable.
Dane County Executive Melissa Agard said the shooting represents a profound loss for a family and a community once again forced to confront the aftermath of a deadly police encounter, adding that such tragedies can’t be allowed to become something the public simply grows numb to.
