MADISON, Wis. — With protests and demands for accountability growing louder in Madison, officials have identified the man who was fatally shot by a police officer this week.
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Corey Ruiz, who was in his 30s and a member of the Madison community, was killed Wednesday, officials said during a news conference Thursday. He was shot after he pulled out a knife during a struggle with four officers, police said.
The news conference became heated, as Madison Police Chief John Patterson was interrupted by two protesters for about 20 minutes. One took over the microphone to condemn police brutality and demand the officer responsible be jailed.
Patterson described the case as “an open and active homicide investigation.”
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Madison police shoot man they say was wielding a knife
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The state Justice Department’s Criminal Investigation Division is leading the investigation and will release the name of the officer who fired his weapon, he said.
The mayor also called for answers about Ruiz’s shooting.
“I want to be clear: It does not matter who you are or what your past is. You should not lose your life as a result of an encounter with law enforcement. That should not happen,” Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said Thursday, promising that the shooting will be “rigorously investigated.”
Public records show that Ruiz had 40 misdemeanor and felony convictions from 2009 to 2025. The crimes include robbery by force, strangulation, drug possession, vehicle theft and battery of a public safety worker, according to the records. It appears that Ruiz was most recently convicted of resisting law enforcement and drug paraphernalia possession, the records show.
Jazzman Brown, a community organizer in Madison, said Ruiz was a father who was experiencing homelessness and mental health struggles.
“Corey I’ve known for 20-plus years. He was a friend of my brother’s. We went to school together. He dated my best friend at one point. We’ve just known each other forever,” Brown said.
She remembered Ruiz as a “loving” person and “the life of the party” who “filled the room with energy whenever he was in it.”
“A father, a son, a friend, a loved one, and he’s gone. And his kids, his mom, his entire family, everyone that loved him and knew him, watched him be murdered in cold blood,” she added.
Brown organized a vigil for Thursday night to honor his memory.
“He didn’t deserve to be gunned down in front of the world, and he has people who love him. And he’s more than just a case number. … We can’t just continue to let this problem go on. There has to be some kind of change,” Brown said.
Efforts to reach Ruiz’s family members were not immediately successful Thursday.
The shooting unfolded Wednesday afternoon when police officers were dispatched to Madison’s Marquette neighborhood after reports of someone stealing bicycles and checking vehicle doors, police said in their initial statement.
Officers located Ruiz, but he biked off, traveling through backyards to get away, authorities said. Police found him shortly afterward at the intersection of South Baldwin and Williamson streets, police said.
Ruiz either fell or was pulled off the bicycle, police said, and then a struggle with officers ensued in the intersection. During the struggle, Ruiz pulled out a fixed-blade knife and injured an officer, police said.
