MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Madison police officer who shot and killed Corey Ruiz should face criminal charges, civil rights attorney Ben Crump said Friday, after protests erupted in anger over videos of their struggle.
“They not only tackled him, not only tased him, not only kicked him, but you saw they shot him three times in his head and other parts of his body,” Crump said.
He spoke at an emotional news conference with Ruiz's mother, siblings and 13-year-old
daughter, Kah’liyah Aliomar.
Ruiz, 38, was killed on a busy city street Wednesday, just a couple of blocks away from his daughter's home and along the route she walks to school. Police say Ruiz pulled a knife during a struggle with four officers, injuring one of them. That officer then fired the shots, according to police. All four officers have been placed on administrative leave pending a state investigation, and the officer who fired the shots has not yet been identified.
Aliomar cried as she described learning of her father’s death.
“My heart was broken and hurt so much knowing I can’t see my father anymore,” she said.
His mother Elsa Ruiz said she never imagined she would have to bury her son.
“He was my love. He loved his daughter, he loved his family. He did not deserve to be taken out like that. They took my baby from me,” she said, sobbing.
The family promised to seek justice for Ruiz’s death, which Crump called an unjustified “execution.”
“Anytime there is excessive use of force, there should be accountability,” Crump said. He said it was “shocking on every level.”
The shooting was captured on cellphone video that was widely shared online, though Madison Police Chief John Patterson cautioned Thursday that the video did not show the altercation from the police officers’ perspective.
But unlike nearly every other similarly sized city, Madison doesn’t require its police to use body-worn cameras, so there is no footage from the officers’ perspective. Over the last decade city officials have repeatedly debated adopting the cameras — at times creating subcommittees and doing studies on the idea — but local officials have primarily blamed budget concerns and political inertia for the ongoing stalemate.
Another common source of opposition, identified in a 2021 feasibility study, came from community groups worried the cameras would be used to surveil and criminalize marginalized groups. Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said Thursday that she expects the new budget that takes effect in January to include funding for body-worn cameras.
“Thank God there was video,” Crump said. “If there wasn’t video, imagine what the narrative would have been.”
Wisconsin 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.
“People are saying he’s a criminal. So what? He had a family, he had me,” Aliomar said, breaking down into tears.
Police said they were at the street to investigate reports that someone was trying to enter parked cars, something Crump said amounted to only the suspicion of a low-level property crime.
“I need somebody to help me understand why they felt it was OK to execute my brother based on no facts at all,” Veronica Ruiz said. “I hope everyone continues to support and come together and find justice for him.”
The police chief has released few details about the shooting. Patterson said Thursday that a Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation probe must run its course. A separate investigation by the city’s independent police monitor is also underway.
“The situation was clearly dangerous,” Patterson said, and that he did not know the extent of the knife injuries sustained by the officer. He also said he wanted transparency and accountability in the investigation.
The killing sparked protests, calls for justice from elected officials and anger from a community where police have killed three people in the same neighborhood since 2012.
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This story has been updated to correct that Corey Ruiz's daughter's last name is Aliomar, not Ruiz.
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Boone reported from Boise, Idaho.
