Wisconsin police officer shoots, kills man on city street near state Capitol in Madison

MADISON, Wis. —

Warning: The above video may be graphic in nature. Viewer discretion is advised.

A Madison Police Department officer fired three shots at point-blank range at a man who he and other officers were trying to take into custody in the middle of a street Wednesday afternoon as several witnesses looked on.

“It happened so fast that I didn’t have time to react,” Michael Doubek told sister station 12 News Wednesday evening. Doubek was one of several people who pulled out cellphone cameras as police were trying to make the arrest.

“It seemed like they had got him on the ground,” Doubek added. “A split second later, three shots to his head.”

In a statement posted online, police officials said officers had responded to the Marquette neighborhood for reports of a person stealing bicycles and checking the doors on vehicles.

“Officers located the man, but he rode away on a bicycle and traveled through backyards to get away. They connected with the man again in the intersection of S. Baldwin and Williamson Streets around 1:35 p.m. on a bicycle,” the online statement said.

Doubek said an officer tackled or grabbed the man from the bike, prompting Doubek to start recording the interaction.

Mayor identifies man killed as protesters interrupt press conference

City of Madison officials identified a man who was shot by police after allegedly injuring an officer with a knife while resisting arrest as homeless on Thursday, but told a news conference that who he was shouldn’t have cost him his life.

“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,” Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said. She identified the man who was killed Wednesday as Corey Ruiz, and said his shooting will be “rigorously investigated.”

Sabrina Madison, president of the Madison Common Council, said, “Corey could have been my brother because my brother is homeless and he often rides a bike.”

“He’s a human being. He had a family. He has parents who loved him who brought him home, who cared for him,” said Madison, adding that she has seen videos of the shooting and found them hard to reconcile.

“My first thought is, when the officer’s walking away, why isn’t he walking away in cuffs,” Madison said. “I’m angry, there’s no way around it.”

The police chief then took the podium to describe the investigation, only to be interrupted when a dozen protesters burst into the news conference and seized the microphone as the chief calmly stood by. Other uniformed police officers also watched quietly as a man spoke at length about imperialism and “bougeois” city management.

How the shooting unfolded

In to the video Doubek recorded, four officers can be seen trying to take the man into custody.

One officer alerts the others to a weapon.

“He’s got a knife,” the officer repeats multiple times.

A different officer, according to the video, is seen deploying a taser as she alerts fellow officers to her intent. Three seconds after the taser is deployed, the officer who called out the presence of a knife bends down and fires three shots.

The officer who deployed the taser immediately covers her mouth as she backs away.

While the perspective of Doubek’s video does not show a weapon during the struggle, one of the officers can be seen pulling a knife from in front of the man and discarding it to the side.

The online police statement included a still image of a knife on the ground. The image, does not appear to show any blood on the blade of the knife; however, the online police statement said the officer who fired the shots was injured by the knife.

The statement did not say how the officer was injured and also said an additional officer was injured but not from the knife.

“I caution everyone this is one, one perspective. It is not a full overview of everything that was visible from different angles, certainly visible from the officers. And again, it involves a fixed blade knife that I think we’re fortunate didn’t cause more damage to others,” Chief John Patterson said at a news conference.

Who was involved?

Patterson did not identify the officer who fired the shots by name but said he was a veteran officer. A police spokesperson said Wednesday night that officer, along with the three other officers who were trying to take the man into custody are all on administrative leave, which is standard procedure in deadly use of force incidents.

“Our hearts go out to the man’s family, and we echo calls for a full, independent investigation into exactly what led to this tragedy — and what led an officer to shoot multiple times at a man that video shows was already on the ground and surrounded by police,” American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin Executive Director Dr. Melinda Brennan said in an emailed statement.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice is leading the independent investigation.

“The family deserves to know exactly what happened. The community deserves to know exactly what happened. We stand in solidarity with those demanding answers, transparency, accountability and a vision of public safety that meets people’s needs and allows our communities to live, and thrive,” Dr. Brennan added.

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, in a post on X, said he had been briefed on the shooting.

“There must be transparency and accountability in any investigation moving forward. We will continue to keep the loved ones and family of the individual who was killed in our hearts and prayers. His life mattered,” Evers wrote.

The governor cautioned folks who planned to protest the killing to do so peacefully.

No body cameras

Doubek’s video is one of several circulating online, and is also one of the more clearly recorded videos. It could be the most crucial piece of evidence to determine whether the use of force was warranted, as Madison police patrol officers do not wear body cameras.

Last year, the Madison Common Council voted against an amendment that would have funded a broad body camera program, the police spokesperson said. According to city records, only three of 20 council members supported redirecting nearly $400,000 from the Office of Independent Police Monitor to fund the body camera program.

The issue has been long debated in Madison, one of the largest Midwest cities where body cameras are not part of the tools street officer have, mostly because of the cost of the cameras and the storage for the videos they capture.

The police spokesperson said Chief Patterson is pushing for body camera funding as part of the 2027 budget cycle.

Scott Bauer from the Associated Press contributed to this report.