A group of approximately 20 protesters interrupted a Thursday news conference held by Madison officials regarding the fatal police shooting of a homeless man identified as Corey Ruiz. The protesters entered the room as Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and Common Council President Sabrina Madison were speaking, resulting in a confrontation where a protester took the microphone from Police Chief John Patterson. The event resumed once the protesters quieted, with Patterson pledging cooperation with state investigators.
The incident occurred Wednesday when Madison police responded to reports of a person attempting to enter parked vehicles. According to Chief Patterson, Ruiz resisted arrest and injured an officer with a knife after a taser deployment failed to subdue him. Bystander video circulating on social media shows four officers struggling to restrain Ruiz before three gunshots are heard. The four officers involved do not wear body cameras, as the Madison Police Department has not yet implemented the technology.
The Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation is currently leading an independent inquiry into the shooting, as mandated by state law. The officer who fired the weapon, a veteran of the force, and three other responding officers have been placed on administrative leave. Aeiramique Glass, Madison’s independent police monitor, stated Thursday that her office had not yet received the evidence or the identity of the officer involved, which she described as an obstruction of the public's interest.
The shooting took place in Madison’s Marquette neighborhood, an area where residents noted two previous fatal police shootings in 2012 and 2015. While police have not officially released the race of Ruiz or the officers involved, community members and advocacy groups described Ruiz as Black. Chief Patterson has cautioned against drawing conclusions from cellphone footage, stating that existing videos do not capture the officers' perspectives and that additional unreleased video is under review.