Ben Crump Probes Corey Ruiz Shooting as 4 Madison Officers Remain on Leave

Q: What will unreleased bystander and squad car videos reveal about the moments leading to the fatal shots?

The unreleased videos are expected to clarify the disputed seconds before Corey Ruiz was shot, especially whether police accounts of a knife attack and failed Taser use match what happened on the ground. Publicly circulating cellphone footage already shows officers struggling with Ruiz, shouts of “He’s got a knife!” and “Taser!,” and then gunfire. But Police Chief John Patterson said those clips show only one angle and not the officers’ perspective. Investigators are also reviewing additional bystander recordings and possible squad-car video that could fill in gaps. If those videos are clear, they could show how the encounter began, how Ruiz ended up on the ground, whether he was still armed or actively threatening officers at the instant shots were fired, and the sequence in which an officer was allegedly cut and a Taser was deployed unsuccessfully. They may also help establish distances, positioning, and whether officers had alternatives in the final moments. What the videos will not provide is body-camera evidence, because none of the four officers involved were wearing body cameras. That makes bystander footage and any squad-car recording especially important to the Wisconsin Department of Justice investigation and to the family’s demand, through attorney Ben Crump, for full public release of all available video. Until those recordings are released or described in detail by investigators, the key facts about the fatal moments remain unresolved.

3 articles · Updated · WPR · Jul 24

Hundreds gathered Thursday night at South Baldwin and Williamson Streets for a vigil honoring 38-year-old Corey Ruiz, whose family has hired Ben Crump to examine whether police used excessive force.
Crump said bystander video shows Ruiz was tased, taken to the ground and shot multiple times at close range, including in the face; Police Chief John Patterson said the Taser deployment was "unsuccessful."
Four Madison officers are on leave while the Wisconsin Department of Justice investigates the shooting, which police say began when Ruiz pulled a knife and injured an officer trying to apprehend him.
The vigil unfolded in Madison's Willy Street neighborhood, near sites of the 2015 Tony Robinson and 2012 Paul Heenan police shootings, sharpening local anger over the city's history of fatal encounters.