Corey Ruiz shooting fuels protests after Madison police identify victim
Madison officials identified Corey Ruiz as the man killed by police, as state investigators review the shooting and protesters demand answers.
By Sal Moretti · Money Reporter
3 min read
Corey Ruiz shooting questions are mounting in Madison, Wisconsin, after officials identified him as the man killed by a police officer Wednesday during a struggle in a city intersection.
Ruiz, who officials said was in his 30s and part of the Madison community, died after police said he pulled out a knife while four officers were trying to detain him. Madison officials discussed the case at a Thursday news conference that was repeatedly interrupted by protesters calling for accountability.
Madison City Council President Sabrina Madison said Ruiz “has a family who loves him” and said she believed he had a child. NBC News reported that attempts to reach Ruiz’s relatives Thursday were unsuccessful.
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said Thursday that a person should not die because of an encounter with law enforcement, regardless of who they are or what their background is. She said the shooting would be investigated rigorously.
What happened in the Corey Ruiz shooting?
Madison police said officers were sent Wednesday afternoon to the Marquette neighborhood after reports of a person stealing bicycles and checking vehicle doors. Police said officers found Ruiz, who rode away on a bicycle and went through backyards before he was located again near South Baldwin and Williamson streets.
Police said Ruiz either fell or was pulled from the bicycle, after which officers struggled with him in the intersection. During that struggle, police said, Ruiz produced a fixed-blade knife and injured an officer.
According to police, officers used a stun gun, but it did not stop him. Police said the officer injured by the knife then fired at Ruiz.
Police said life-saving measures were attempted at the scene. Ruiz was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Madison Police Chief John Patterson called the case “an open and active homicide investigation” at the Thursday news conference. He said the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation is leading the review and will release the name of the officer who fired.
What video shows and what police have said
NBC News reported that bystander videos of the shooting spread widely online. One video verified by NBC News appears to show officers holding Ruiz as someone yells, “Let go!” Multiple people can also be heard shouting, “He’s got a knife!”
In that video, someone appears to call out, “Taser!” About three seconds later, a male officer standing over Ruiz appears to fire three shots, after which Ruiz stops moving, according to NBC News.
Police said four officers were involved in or witnessed the shooting. Only one officer, described by police as a veteran officer, fired his weapon. He had not been publicly identified as of Thursday.
None of the four officers wore body cameras, according to police. Madison police said all officers involved will be placed on administrative leave while the state investigation proceeds, as required by Wisconsin law.
Why are people protesting in Madison?
The shooting has drawn protests and demands for accountability in Madison. Thursday’s news conference was interrupted for about 20 minutes, NBC News reported, including by one protester who took the microphone to condemn police brutality and demand that the officer involved be jailed.
The shooting happened in an area with a painful history of police killings, Patterson said. He noted that it occurred about a block and a half from where Tony Robinson was shot and killed by a Madison officer in 2015 and near the site where Paul Heenan was shot and killed by police in 2012.
A memorial for Ruiz was visible Thursday at Williamson and South Baldwin streets, with flowers, candles and posters. A community vigil for Ruiz was planned for Thursday evening.
Madison urged residents to press local officials and state lawmakers for justice for Ruiz. She said that if investigators determine the officer’s actions followed policy, then people should advocate at every level of government for those directives to change.
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.