Community members in Madison gather July 25 following police shooting
Days after a police officer fatally shot a 38-year-old man, protests continue in Madison.
Days after a police officer fatally shot a 38-year-old man, protests continue in Madison.
Since Corey Ruiz’s death the afternoon of Wednesday, July 22, community members have gathered around the intersection of Williamson and South Baldwin streets, where Ruiz was shot. By Saturday, July 25, the pavement was filled with chalk writing, signs, flowers and candles. Tents, foldable chairs, fires, a portable toilet and a few mattresses were evidence of a days-long vigil.
Around noon July 25, a few dozen people marched through the area. Protestors engaged in chants and songs – including a rendition of “America the Beautiful” by the Raging Grannies of Madison. Several other community groups showed up, alongside neighbors and passersby. People took turns sharing their thoughts with a megaphone.
Ruiz was shot around 1:15 p.m. July 22 during an altercation with four police officers.
At news conference that evening, Madison Police Chief John Patterson said that the incident started when multiple officers attempted to arrest a man who was suspected of stealing bicycles and trying to enter unlocked vehicles. During the encounter with officers, the man drew a knife and injured an officer, who then fired their weapon, Patterson said.
Footage of the interaction captured by bystanders rapidly spread online, evoking criticism and calls for police reform. The video showed what appeared to be a white officer firing three shots at a Black man on the ground. Some government officials and policing experts have expressed concern with what they saw. Much of the conversation has also centered around the Madison Police Department’s lack of body cameras.
Several Madison events have been canceled, postponed and had adjusted hours in response to the shooting and its community response.
The Madison Public Market postponed its grand opening, which had been scheduled for July 23. AtwoodFest, an annual neighborhood music festival, was canceled.
The Dane County Farmer’s Market, which takes up the entire Capitol Square every Saturday April through November, from 6:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., closed early, at 10 a.m., in response to protests.
While little more than a dozen people were gathered around the Capitol building immediately following the farmer’s market, the majority of protestors were concentrated at the Willimson and South Baldwin streets intersection – which has remained closed since the shooting.
Blockades consisting of cars, garbage cans, wood planks, traffic cones, mattresses, wooden pallets and furniture block off Williamson Street between the Willy Street Co-op and South Dickinson Street, and South Baldwin Street between East Wilson Street and Jenifer Street.
The City of Madison said in a July 24 news release that the closure will continue until further notice.
Ruiz’s family retained prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump to examine if police used excessive force in the shooting. The family spoke publicly alongside Crump at a July 24 news conference.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or [email protected]. Follow her on X at @ArseneauKelli.
