Officer injured by knife fired fatal shots during struggle, police say
Madison police do not require officers to wear body cameras, so no department footage exists of the July 22 fatal shooting of Corey Ruiz. Police Chief John Patterson confirmed that frontline officers do not have the devices, leaving investigators and the public dependent on bystander cellphone recordings.
The shooting occurred in the Marquette neighborhood, less than two miles from the Wisconsin state Capitol. According to the department, Ruiz pulled a knife during a struggle with four officers, injuring one of them. That officer was the same one who fired the fatal shots, Patterson said. A bystander cellphone video captured at least three gunshots during the encounter.
All four officers involved have been placed on administrative leave pending a state investigation. Police have not publicly identified the officer who fired.
Patterson said it is possible dashcam footage of the incident exists but that he was unable to confirm that in his immediate review. No frontline officers in the department carry body cameras, he said.
The absence of official recording has left residents in the dark about key moments leading up to the shooting, according to reporting on the incident. The department’s lack of body cameras stands in contrast to the equipment many law enforcement agencies adopt as standard practice.
Protests erupted in the wake of the shooting, with demonstrators marching outside the Wisconsin State Capitol and holding signs. The body camera question has added to community frustration over the lack of a definitive record of what happened in the moments before the gunfire.