To: Madison Police Department, Local Authorities

Preserve and Release All Footage Connected to Corey Ruiz's killing

Corey Ruiz was shot, multiple times, at close range by police officers in Madison, Wisconsin. Police have their story, but the limited footage released tells another.

Corey’s family and their legal team are calling on authorities to “preserve and publicly release all footage of the encounter, including squad-car and bystander video, and to examine whether the use of deadly force was justified while Ruiz was on the ground.”

And so are we.

Why is this important?

Corey struggled with housing instability, substance use, and his mental health—issues that systems in our country criminalize instead of treating, cycling people like Corey in and out of jail instead of getting the care they need. But, Corey was a father and a friend, and he should be alive today.

The MPD and the media want to focus on Corey's criminal record instead of the whole person he was.

MPD are using the claim that Corey had a knife and possibly injured an officer in the scuffle as justification for his killing. But disturbing bystander footage shows four officers tackling him to the ground and shooting him a shocking three times in the head after being Tased, raising concerns about police brutality and unnecessary deadly force.

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said it best: “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.”

The area where the MPD officer shot and killed Corey has a history of police brutality and killings. It was just in 2015 that, blocks away, an unarmed teenager, Tony Robinson, was shot and killed by officer Matthew Kenny. His murder—and the complete lack of police accountability— sparked protests across the city, sounding the alarm about racial discrimination by MPD In Madison, and echoing outrage at police brutality against Black communities across the country.

Black Americans are three times more likely to be killed by police. Our policing and criminal legal systems are rooted in anti-Blackness, and this shooting has once again reignited nationwide grief, outrage, and anger at the lack of justice, accountability, and change.

Corey’s family—and the general public—deserve to know the truth about what happened. MPD officers don’t wear body cameras, so it’s imperative that all video footage be preserved from bystanders and vehicles.

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PHOTO: Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel