To: Madison Police Department, Dane County District Attorney, Local Authorities
Arrest and charge the officer who shot and killed Corey Ruiz
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Corey Ruiz was executed, in broad daylight, by a police officer in Madison, Wisconsin.
The bystander video footage that was leaked was damning. The moments leading up to Corey’s murder are chaotic and quick—but we can trust what we see with our eyes. And what we see is a police officer, shooting Corey three times in the head at close range, after he was tased and on the ground.
Yes, there was a knife. But simply presence of a knife during an arrest does not give police officers permission to shoot and kill someone who is being held on the ground by four officers.
The police are not meant to be judges and juries, carrying out death sentences in the middle of the street. But far too often, police get away with murder in America. Our communities are less safe when police shoot and kill first, and ask questions later. When they escalate violence instead of deescalate. When they fail to respond in ways that prioritize public safety.
The police officer responsible for Corey’s murder must be arrested and charged. Add your name to the petition.
Why is this important?
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—a blatant display of 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 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.
Police are not above the law. Add your name to the petition now to demand the officer who executed Corey be held accountable.