On the morning of Aug. 4, Madison police in riot gear cleared out a protest encampment at the intersection where an officer shot and killed Corey Ruiz on July 22. For at least two nights, protesters responded by throwing rocks and setting fires in the street, and more than two dozen people have been arrested.

In a written statement, the Ruiz family denounced any affiliation with the encampment, calling for people to be peaceful.

“I personally do not plan on leaving this space at all,” said Azrael Judy on Aug. 3, who was among the protesters at the Corey Ruiz memorial.

Going into the thirteenth day of this protest, a new week began with tension and a seeming clock ticking at the corners of Baldwin and Williamson streets — just how long could and would the intersection where Ruiz was killed remain closed?

“I’ve been here since the 22nd — every single day,” said Bernadette “Bird” Bowen, another protestor at the encampment.

Some businesses, stuck in the past, were still shut down as city officials and protestors worked to hash out a resolution that comforted both sides. Some community members demanded a permanent memorial to honor Corey Ruiz. City officials say they’re open to that, but wanted an end to the encampment.

“Now the grief has turned into anger now because they’re not moving swiftly enough,” said community activist Jackie Morris, a Madison resident, about police and the city’s investigation. He and others have continued to demand that the unidentified officer who pulled the trigger be arrested and charged.

“As a community, what are we doing here,” said Judy, who goes by the name “Spawn.” He wants to see more than that.

“The perfect situation would be a complete end to policing as we know it. At least in the city of Madison, policing should lie in the hands of the community,” he said.

“I’m sure if they arrest him right now at this minute, all this will go away with a blink of an eye,” said Morris.

At the beginning of the week, all four corners leading to the scene were still cut off by homemade blockades set up by protestors, made of cars, RVs, debris, and at one section, a bed of nails.

“What’s his name? Corey! What’s his name? Corey!” chanted protestors at the intersection

A day before the two-week mark of the controversial shooting,in what seemed like a blink of an eye, during a pre-dawn raid a swarm of nearly 50 law enforcement officers swept in, clearing out with force what couldn’t be cleared with patience, compromise or negotiations.

“By the time that I got over here, on all four of these corners, there were dozens of cops out here — dozens on every single corner,” Bowen said.”The mayor has been like: Oh, it’s dangerous, the businesses are against them, the neighbors are against that, it’s not sanitary, the food isn’t safe. But they always do that, because they will always paint out community protecting each other.”

“Can you guys move off the spot where he was killed?” said a protester following the clearing.

“I just did,” replied an officer.

“Where’s all the Black police officers? Where are the Latino officers?” said another protester.

Criticism over policing in Madison made its way all the way to leaders at city hall

“How are we supposed to build trust with this? How do you come back from this? said one person testifying at a virtual Madison Common Council meeting that started on the night of Aug. 4, and lasted more than seven hours

“But my neighbors, the people I care about, they’re being terrorized every day by these police officers,” said another.

Three minutes at a time, almost 400 people registered to speak — most in support of more trauma-informed policing, and more oversight and funding for it.

“People need to have more of a grieving time for all of this,” said a third.

“Oversight without resources is not oversight,” said a fourth.

In her first briefing with reporters after the city cleared the encampment, flanked by the police chief and other city leaders, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway admitted there’s work to be done to better the relationship between police and the people they’re sworn to protect.

“I still believe that we will do better working together than causing more harm and destruction. I very much hope that our community can come together, start listening to each other across difference, acknowledge some of the deep structural issues in our society, and focus on how we move forward,” she said.

“I’ve identified some areas that I think we’re going to make immediate progress on hopefully and immediate steps to do some restructuring to help us get there, but that takes time and to the mayor’s point, it’s near impossible to do it when you’re in the middle of a crisis,” said Madison Police Chief John Patterson.

After the encampment was cleared, traffic flowed through the traumatized community pretty much like normal, but the sense of permanent peace and normalcy in and around the intersection remains to be seen.

“The community needs some kind of closure. and we need to be able to trust the police, to want them to protect and serve us, instead of the community against the police, the police against community,” Morris said.

And that’s something both sides can agree on.