Police in Madison, Wisconsin, killed 38-year-old Corey Ruiz, a Black Hispanic man, on July 22. Ruiz, who was homeless at the time of his murder, leaves behind his 13-year-old daughter, girlfriend, mother, and siblings.
Police arrived on the scene after receiving a call that someone was attempting to enter cars. The police then begin to chase Ruiz, who was riding his bike in the area. Ruiz, according to Madison Police Chief John Patterson, “either fell off his bike or was taken off” it by officers.
In a bystander video, four police officers are seen surrounding Ruiz, ganging up on him and strangling him to the ground. One officer tases him, and then another draws his gun, firing three shots at point-blank range.
Patterson has so far refused to release the name of the killers. He justified the execution-style murder by claiming Ruiz injured an officer with a knife. Madison Police do not wear body cameras.
Protesters interrupted Patterson’s July 23 press conference, with one holding a sign reading “Corrupt cops deserve to die too.”
“Everyone in this room can feel the thinness of trust in this city right now,” Patterson said before being cut off by protesters. “We can shut this down,” the protester said, “You can stop talking because we don’t want to hear anything you’ve been saying. We have the power. Not that badge, not that weapon. We have the power.”
Civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump, who is now representing Ruiz’s family, suggested that Ruiz may have struggled with mental illness.
Shortly after the shooting, a crowd assembled at the site of the killing and demanded “Arrest the cops!” The four officers who killed Ruiz have been placed on paid administrative leave while the Wisconsin Department of Justice conducts an investigation.
This is the third police killing within blocks of each other in recent years. In 2012, police killed Paul Heenan, a 30-year-old white musician, after he mistakenly entered the wrong house. In 2015, police murdered Tony Robinson, a 19-year-old Black service worker, after having a severe psychological episode.
In the days following Ruiz’s killing, protesters set up a street encampment at the busy intersection of Williamson and Baldwin Streets, where Ruiz was murdered. The protest is ongoing and has entered its second week.
Protesters constructed makeshift barricades with trash cans and wooden pallets to block traffic. They set up tents, built a memorial honoring Ruiz, and wrote messages on the street in chalk.
Business owners told monopoly media that the encampment has disrupted business as usual. District 6 Alder Davy Mayer told media that he wants the city to begin pushing the barricades back. Democrat mafia Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway complained that the encampment “is not sustainable or safe” in an attempt to justify repression of the rebellion and has called for its dispersal, claiming hundreds of thousands of dollars have been lost as a result of the protest.
Members of the encampment told local media that they are not leaving until the officers who killed Ruiz face charges.
Image: A collage of Corey Ruiz. Credit “Justice for Corey: Telling His Story” fundraiser on GoFundMe.
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