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Corey Durell Ruiz

Age : 38

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 07/22/2026

Location : South Baldwin Street and Williamson Street

City : Madison

County : Dane

State : Wisconsin

Agency : Madison Police Department

Officer(s) :Kiel Baitinger-Peterson

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during arrest

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 07/22/2026 shortly after 1:30 p.m., Madison Police Department officers responded to the Marquette neighborhood after callers reported a man checking the doors of parked vehicles. Officers encountered 38-year-old Corey Durell Ruiz, who rode away on a bicycle when police attempted to stop him. Officers located Ruiz near Williamson Street and South Baldwin Street and attempted to take him into custody. Ruiz was under Wisconsin Department of Corrections community supervision and had been listed as absconded.
Four Madison police officers became involved in a physical struggle with Ruiz in the middle of the intersection. Multiple bystanders stopped and recorded the encounter. Video shows several officers surrounding Ruiz and attempting to restrain him on the pavement. Police Chief John Patterson said Ruiz produced a fixed-blade knife during the struggle and injured one of the officers. Another officer deployed a Taser, but the electrical discharge did not stop the struggle.
The officer who sustained the knife injury fired three gunshots at Ruiz from close range. Bystander recordings captured the shots and showed Ruiz collapsing while officers remained around him. Officers subsequently placed Ruiz in handcuffs. Ruiz died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds. The four officers who participated in the attempted arrest were removed from field duty while the shooting was investigated.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation assumed responsibility for the criminal investigation under Wisconsin’s law requiring an outside agency to investigate deaths caused by law enforcement. DCI investigators collected the knife, firearms, Taser evidence, bystander recordings, physical evidence and witness statements. The City of Madison’s Office of the Independent Monitor also opened a separate review of the officers’ conduct.
Ruiz’s family retained civil-rights attorneys Ben Crump, Steve Hart and B’Ivory Lamarr. His mother, siblings, 13-year-old daughter Kah’liyah Aliomar and other relatives appeared at a news conference at the Wisconsin State Capitol on 07/24/2026. The family described Ruiz as a father, brother and son who worked in construction, made music and was known for making people laugh. His daughter said his criminal record did not erase his humanity or his relationship with his family.
Crump argued that police escalated an investigation into suspected vehicle break-ins into a fatal encounter and called for the officer who fired to face criminal charges. The family’s attorneys questioned why four officers could not restrain Ruiz without killing him and pointed to the bystander recordings showing officers holding him down when the shots were fired. The legal team demanded a complete independent investigation, preservation and release of all evidence, and accountability for the officer’s use of deadly force.
The shooting triggered immediate demonstrations at Williamson and South Baldwin streets. Hundreds of people marched from the shooting scene to the Wisconsin State Capitol on the evening of 07/22/2026. Demonstrators entered the Capitol Square and caused organizers to cancel a scheduled Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra “Concerts on the Square” performance. Protesters demanded that the officer who shot Ruiz be identified and prosecuted.
Residents created a memorial of flowers, candles, photographs and signs at the intersection. A candlelight vigil was held there on 07/23/2026, followed by additional marches and gatherings. Ruiz’s daughter and other relatives attended community events mourning him. Protesters maintained a continuous presence at the intersection, blocking Williamson Street and South Baldwin Street to vehicle traffic during extreme summer heat.
Protesters entered Chief Patterson’s 07/23/2026 press conference at the City-County Building, took control of the microphone and demanded that police disclose the officer’s name and make an arrest. Madison Common Council President Sabrina Madison said the bystander footage left her angry and questioned why the officer who fired was able to leave rather than being taken into custody. Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said Ruiz’s past did not justify his death during an encounter with police.
The continuing demonstrations disrupted normal activity across Madison. The city postponed the Madison Public Market grand opening, while organizers canceled or altered AtwoodFest, the Dane County Farmers’ Market and other public events. Protesters continued occupying the shooting location for several days, and city crews placed traffic barriers around the intersection. The sustained blockade affected nearby residents, bus routes and businesses while demonstrators insisted that Madison could not return to normal activity without accountability for Ruiz’s death.
The shooting carried particular weight in the Marquette neighborhood because Madison police had previously killed Paul Heenan nearby in 2012 and Tony Robinson several blocks away in 2015. Community organizations, elected officials and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund described Ruiz’s death as part of a recurring pattern in which low-level police encounters involving marginalized residents escalate into fatal force. The Legal Defense Fund called for transparency, de-escalation and a full investigation of the officers’ actions.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.channel3000.com/news/full-video-police-involved-fatal-shooting-in-madison/article_2b47a3cd-49dc-46b5-bb20-8448f784378f.html
https://www.wpr.org/news/officials-id-corey-ruiz-shot-killed-madison-police
https://apnews.com/article/f4efad72ed0dc5cad6005bb6e4a326dd
https://abcnews.com/US/wireStory/bodycam-footage-fatal-madison-police-shooting-department-doesnt-135042131
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/wisconsin-protesters-demand-justice-man-shot-dead-by-police-2026-07-24/
Bystander video:
https://www.channel3000.com/news/full-video-police-involved-fatal-shooting-in-madison/article_2b47a3cd-49dc-46b5-bb20-8448f784378f.html