Madison Protestors Demand Justice for Corey Ruiz

In the days after Ruiz was killed, in addition to a rally and march to the capitol building, Madison activists and community members constructed a memorial site for Ruiz at the intersection where he was killed.

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In the early afternoon of Wednesday, July 22, 38-year-old Corey Ruiz was killed by Madison police officer Kiel Baitinger-Peterson at the intersection of Williamson and Baldwin St. in the city’s Marquette neighborhood. Baitinger-Peterson, along with three other officers, had confronted Ruiz over an alleged stolen bike and began violently subduing him in the middle of the street. After tasing him to the ground, the police department alleged that Ruiz pulled out a knife, at which point Baitinger-Peterson fatally shot Ruiz three times at point-black range. Several bystanders witnessed and video recorded the altercation, which then widely circulated on social media and sparked calls for justice for Ruiz and that the officers involved in his killing be held accountable.

An independent investigation into Ruiz’s killing has been opened by Aeiramique Glass of the Office of the Independent Monitor. She said in an August 4 press release, “Whenever a life is lost, and especially a life lost at the hands of those who took an oath to protect and serve, we must take a deep look at every measure that could have prevented it. Every life has value. But being Black, being unsheltered, and living with mental and behavioral health needs add additional vulnerability and additional risk, in this city, in this state, and in this country. My heart breaks for the family of Corey Ruiz. The killing of another son, father, brother, friend, regardless of any challenges he faced, he is loved and missed.”

In the days after Ruiz was killed, in addition to a rally and march to the capitol building, Madison activists and community members constructed a memorial site for Ruiz at the intersection where he was killed, which was decorated with flowers, candles, chalk and signs of solidarity. Protestors subsequently set up a barricaded encampment at the memorial site as they continued to demand both justice for Ruiz and for the City of Madison to protect its unhoused neighbors.

No Stranger to Violence

Activist Corey Dean attests that Madison is no stranger to racialized police brutality, noting the 2014 killing of Tony Robinson, an unarmed 19-year old biracial man who was shot seven times by Madison police officer Matt Kenny. Dean had been present at Ruiz’s memorial site from the first day, mentioning that folks had set up grills, tents and mattresses as donations of food, water and medical supplies poured in. “In the early morning we had breakfast for people and got our kitchen set up,” he explains. “We made sure, sanitarily and healthily, that we were serving the big-hearted Madisonians who strolled into the memorial site just to see what it was about. Then we tidied up and swept the street for a fresh new day. It was what Madison, Wisconsin wishes it could be on its best day. It shows what it cannot achieve without the people.”

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Adrian Lampron of Madison-based Trans Resistance Action Committee (TRAC) had also been present at the memorial site from the beginning. They recall that for the last two weeks there were regularly hundreds of protestors at the memorial, including appearances by Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong as well as state assembly candidate Juliana Bennett and a number of faith leaders. “There was a lot of community care going on, and it felt really decentralized and not hierarchical,” Lampron says. “Folks running the food tent were high schoolers. A lot of unhoused folks were really involved too; a lot of them knew Corey and were mourning and grieving.”

Despite Madison mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway referring to the memorial site in an August 4 statement as an “occupation” and calling it “neither safe or sustainable” on Twitter, protestors say that until Tuesday, aside from a few verbal confrontations with counter-protestors, no violence had taken place at the memorial site. “The encampment was peaceful,” Dean assures. “Shit only got out of hand when the cops came.”

Freedom Inc, a community organization active in the campaign to get justice for Ruiz, states in an August 4 press release about the memorial site, “This is what the future looks like. Not the temporary tents, but the long-term relationships. The ideas that we are responsible for each other and that no one should suffer alone. The demonstration that safety does not come from the police, but from us.”

Police Raid

In the early morning on Tuesday, August 4, video footage shows Madison police officers raided the memorial site and arrested more than a dozen protestors, during which police damaged and destroyed parts of the memorial. Items were subsequently thrown in garbage trucks by city workers or moved to nearby Demetral Park. Cars blocking the intersection were towed and unhoused folks were loaded onto buses and offered passes for hotel stays.

An anonymous protestor who was arrested explains that there had been a tip about a potential police sweep about 12 hours prior, which led many folks to pack up and leave. They recall seeing police show up at approximately 5 a.m. in full riot gear armed with rifles, teargas and pepper spray while city workers arrived with construction vehicles. “It happened very fast,” the protestor remembers. “They were blaring this recording about how it was an unlawful assembly and we had to disperse. All of the unsheltered folks were sleeping. They almost ran over two people in tents with a bulldozer. They had like six cops on every one person.”

The protestor continues, “A bunch of people were just detained and given citations. I tried to hold onto the person who was next to me when the officers grabbed me but they literally yanked my fingers off. Then these two cops sat me up—because they initially had me on my back—and then another one came up and pinned me on the ground and smashed my face into the pavement. One of them was kneeling on my legs and the other was on my back, and the same was happening to the person next to me. Then they hauled us away, and when we got to the spot where they were checking our pockets and stuff, they were acting like they didn’t just brutalize us.” After being detained for nearly half a day and charged with unlawful assembly as well as obstruction and resisting arrest, the protestor was bailed out by a local mutual aid fund.

Still in the Streets

Though the memorial site was cleared, protestors have remained in the streets seeking justice for Ruiz. Demands from community members include that Kiel Baitinger-Peterson be arrested, non-police crisis response be expanded, permanent supportive housing be invested in, civilian oversight institutions be strengthened and an end to paid administrative leave for officers involved in fatal shootings. As one victory for the justice movement, Madison’s Common Council walked back on amendments to the Police Civilian Oversight Board this week that would have limited its independent power. 

Ruiz’s family is currently being represented by attorney Ben Crump. The family put out a statement on August 5:

"Corey was quiet, soft-spoken, and giving. He thought about other people before he thought about himself. He had a family who loved him. He was not alone in this world, and he was not without help. We ask that he not be reduced to a label he never carried. To the activists who have shown up for Corey, thank you. Keep fighting for justice, peacefully and together. Our family is not affiliated with any group, and you do not need our approval to demand accountability. Please work through our liaison rather than contacting our family directly. Our family did not organize or authorize the encampment at Williamson and Baldwin streets. We learned of it the day after it was set up. We were never asked, and we never agreed to the statement released in our name. The city cleared that intersection yesterday. We ask everyone at that comer and everyone wearing a badge to keep this peaceful. No one else should be hurt in Corey's name. This family has authorized one GoFundMe, and only one: https://gofund.me/1d3ee8937. Any campaign raising money for protest or advocacy work should say so plainly, and should not tell donors the money is going to Corey's family. We would welcome a respectful memorial for Corey that honors the man he was. We are asking for privacy while we grieve. Please work through our legal representatives and liaisons on any requests for our family."