The family of Corey Ruiz has retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who said Thursday that the Wisconsin police officer who fatally shot Ruiz should face criminal charges.
Crump characterized the killing as an unjustified use of excessive force in a statement released Thursday. Ruiz was 38 at the time of the shooting, which occurred on Wednesday afternoon during an attempted arrest at a busy intersection. The police report says Ruiz fled on a bicycle after officers responded to a report of a person checking parked vehicles. It claims Ruiz produced a fixed-blade knife that injured one officer, who then fired three shots.
However, Crump stated that bystander footage reviewed by his office shows the officers appeared to have tased and brought Ruiz to the ground before the shooter opened fire. The attorney called for an examination as to whether deadly force was justified while Ruiz was on the ground. He also called on authorities to preserve and publicly release all footage of the encounter, including squad-car and bystander video.
Crump held a press conference with Ruiz’s family on Friday. He stated: “People all over America are shocked when they see the execution of Corey Ruiz, because they understand .. it was so unnecessary to execute him.”
Crump’s characterization of the event aligns with a broader pattern seen in other high-profile police-involved deaths across the country. When officers are accused of using force that seems disproportionate to the threat posed, the footage often becomes the central evidence in determining whether the use of force was legally justified. This dynamic forces families to rely on visual records to challenge the official police narrative.
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Protests and investigations
Four Madison Police Department officers have been placed on administrative leave, and the shooting officer has not been publicly identified. Ruiz’s mother, Elsa Ruiz, visibly shaken, recalled, “My son was an exceptional guy; he was my love. He loved his daughter [and] his family. He did not deserve to be taken out like that.”
His daughter, Kah’liyah Ruiz, 13, also spoke out: “My heart [is] just so broken, and it just hurts so much knowing I can’t see my father anymore.”
Days of protests ensued after the shooting, including a heated Thursday news conference interrupted by demonstrators demanding immediate charges. Madison Police Chief John Patterson said he requested the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) to lead an independent homicide investigation. The DCI will process evidence, interview witnesses, and present findings to the district attorney.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said the district attorney, the city’s independent police monitor, and the Police Civilian Oversight Board would assist in the review. Patterson noted the shooting’s proximity to two earlier fatal police encounters—the 2015 death of Tony Robinson and the 2012 death of Paul Heenan—makes it the third deadly incident on the same few blocks over roughly 14 years.
Activists argue that systemic failures in law enforcement tactics are often ignored unless external pressure forces a closer look at the specifics of each case. Atrocity prevention efforts have stalled in many jurisdictions, leaving communities to rely on legal battles to ensure accountability.
