MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Crowds gathered in Madison, Wisconsin, last night in memory of Corey Ruiz.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Police shot and killed him on Wednesday after a struggle as they tried to arrest him. The four officers involved have been placed on administrative leave.
MARTIN: Wisconsin Public Radio's Sarah Lehr is here to tell us more. Good morning, Sarah.
SARAH LEHR, BYLINE: Good morning.
MARTIN: First, what do we know about how all of this unfolded?
LEHR: Here's what Madison police say happened. They responded to a report about a man checking car doors. That man was Corey Ruiz. He fled from police on a bike. Eventually, they caught up to him, and there was a struggle. They say Ruiz pulled out a knife during the scuffle. The police used a Taser on him. They say it didn't work. And they say, at some point, an officer was injured by the knife. That was the same officer who shot and killed Ruiz. Bystander video appears to show Ruiz on the ground at the time this officer fired what sounded like three shots. Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said in a press conference yesterday that the city has to do better.
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SATYA RHODES-CONWAY: I want to be clear. 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. That should not happen.
LEHR: She's probably alluding to the fact that court records show Corey Ruiz has a long history of criminal convictions, including resisting arrest and one involving injury to police. The mayor says she has a lot of questions about the shooting, including what police did or did not do to de-escalate the situation. Emotions are running high in Madison. On Thursday afternoon, the city's press conference was interrupted by protesters, who shouted and took over the mic for an extended period of time before city officials eventually resumed talking.
MARTIN: And I know that you've been reporting on this. So what else have you learned about Corey Ruiz?
LEHR: He was 38 years old. He was a father. His young daughter was at the vigil last night, along with other loved ones who wore T-shirts with his face on it. One of the people I spoke to there was Tony Smith, who knew Ruiz since middle school. He says they bonded over rap and basketball.
TONY SMITH: When you get to know him, he's, like, real open and talkative. But at first, he's pretty shy. And he's a good guy. He was always...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Who'd they say he looked like?
SMITH: No matter what, he always made time for his kid, his daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Him right there. Who'd they say he looked like? That's a fact.
SMITH: And that's a fact.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: That's a fact.
SMITH: No matter what he was going through.
LEHR: Worth noting, there have been two other fatal shootings by police in the same Madison neighborhood since 2012. So the community is pretty raw.
MARTIN: And tell us more about how this investigation is proceeding.
LEHR: The Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation is looking into the shooting. Authorities have not released the name of the officer who killed Ruiz. One thing to note, the police officers were not wearing body cameras. That's because Madison police don't have them department-wide. There is some momentum building in city hall to change that, though. Beyond that, Madison police do have dashboard cameras, and there are multiple bystander videos circulating about the incident.
MARTIN: That is Sarah Lehr with Wisconsin Public Radio joining us after a long couple of days of reporting. Sarah, thanks so much for joining us.
LEHR: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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