By Scott Bauer
Contributing Writer
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Protesters and community activists continued to demand police accountability and an end to racial injustice July 24 after a police officer shot and killed a homeless Black man during an alleged encounter over the opening of parked car doors.
Frustrated residents marched and protested near a floral memorial July 23 where an officer fatally shot Corey Durell Ruiz, 38, after a short chase the day before. The memorial was just blocks from where two other police killings happened in 2012 and 2015.
The shooting was captured in bystander videos that were later posted online, showing several officers wrestling with Ruiz before the shot was fired. Police said Ruiz pulled a knife and wounded the shooting officer while resisting arrest. Police reportedly had been called to the scene to check for a person opening the doors of parked cars.
The race of the shooting officer — who fired three times — has not been released. That officer reportedly was treated at the hospital and released. Ruiz is identified as Black or Latino in state court records.
None of the four officers who were detaining Ruiz wore body cameras, but passersby recorded the confrontation on video and accused the officers of overreacting.
“I thought, ‘Holy cow — what could have warranted that?’ It looked to me like they had him under control,” said David Ortiz-Whittingham, who saw officers swarming and heard the gunshots.” Even now, knowing about the knife, did he have to die for it? Could this have been de-escalated?”
On July 23, a group of about 20 protesters burst into a news conference, taking the microphone from Police Chief John Patterson and arguing with some attendees who said they wanted to hear more about the investigation.
One protester held a sign saying: “Corrupt cops deserve to die too!!!”
Once the protesters quieted down, the chief resumed his presentation, though he released few details about the incident. He said a Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation review of the officer-involved shooting must run its course.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, meanwhile, promised that the shooting would be “rigorously investigated.”
“It does not matter who you are or what your past is, you should not lose your life as a result of an encounter with law enforcement,” she said.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers also has called for transparency, accountability, and a rigorous investigation in connection with the incident.
Court records show Ruiz had been in and out of jail over the past decade for mostly misdemeanor offenses including disorderly conduct, drug possession, auto theft, battery and invasion of privacy. He was also convicted of felonies including possession of cocaine and marijuana, robbery, strangulation, resisting an officer and causing bodily harm.
Despite that past, Common Council President Sabrina Madison said she’s struggling to understand what she’s seen in videos of the shooting that have circulated on social media.
“My first thought is, when the officer’s walking away, why isn’t he walking away in cuffs. I’m angry, there’s no way around it,” Madison said. “He’s a human being. He had a family. He has parents who loved him who brought him home, who cared for him.”
Ruiz’s family has retained Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who has represented the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, who were all shot and killed by the police. Crump said the case must be examined for excessive force.
Earlier Thursday, Madison’s independent police monitor, Aeiramique Glass, said police had not yet shared evidence or the officer’s identity with her office, which will review the case and can recommend to the district attorney that charges be filed if warranted. She said the department and city are “obstructing what the community and the public” want.
Scott Bauer writes for the Associated Press. Wave staff contributed to this report.
