Here & Now

What's Next for Madison After the Ruiz Shooting Encampment?

Zac Schultz:
Earlier this week, Madison police in riot gear cleared out a protest encampment at the intersection where an officer shot and killed Corey Ruiz on July 22nd. For at least two nights, protesters responded by throwing rocks and setting fires in the street. 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. “Here & Now” reporter Murv Seymour was on the scene and brings us this report.

Azrael Spawn Judy:
I personally do not plan on leaving this space at all.

Murv Seymour:
Going into the 13th day of this protest, the week begins with tension and a seeming clock ticking at the corners of Baldwin and Williamson streets. Just how long could and would this intersection where Corey Ruiz was shot and killed by a Madison police officer remain closed?

Bernadette Bird Bowen:
I’ve been here since the 22nd.

Murv Seymour:
Some businesses stuck in the past still shut down as city officials and protesters work to hash out a resolution that comforts both sides. Some community members demand a permanent memorial to honor Corey Ruiz. City officials say they’re open to that but want an end to the encampment.

Jackie Morris:
And now the grief has turned into anger now because they’re not moving swiftly enough.

Murv Seymour:
That’s what community activist Jackie Morris says about police and the city’s investigation. He and others continue to demand that the unidentified officer who pulled the trigger is arrested and charged.

Azrael Spawn Judy:
As a community, what are we doing here?

Murv Seymour:
Azrael Judy, who goes by the name “Spawn,” wants to see more than that.

Azrael Spawn Judy:
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.

Jackie Morris:
I’m sure if they arrested him right now, at this minute, all this would go away with blink of an eye.

Murv Seymour:
At the beginning of the week, all four corners leading to the scene still cut off by homemade blockades set up by protesters made of cars, RVs, debris and at this section, a bed of nails.

Woman shouting:
What’s his name?

Protesters:
Corey!

Woman shouting:
What’s his name?

Protesters:
Corey!

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

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

Protester:
Can you guys move off the spot where he was killed?

Police Officer:
I just did.

Murv Seymour:
Criticism over policing in Madison makes its way all the way to leaders at City Hall.

Woman in Common Council meeting:
How are we supposed to build trust with this? How do you come back from this?

Murv Seymour:
This week’s virtual Common Council meeting lasts more than seven hours.

Another woman in Common Council meeting:
But my neighbors, the people I care about, they are being terrorized every day by these police officers.

Murv Seymour:
Three minutes at a time, almost 400 people registered to speak, most in support of more trauma-inspired policing.

Man in Common Council meeting:
People need to have more of a grieving time for all this.

Murv Seymour:
And more oversight and funding for it.

Yet another woman in Common Council meeting:
Oversight without resources is not oversight.

Murv Seymour:
In her first briefing with reporters flanked by the police chief and other city leaders, the mayor admits there’s work to be done to better relationships between police and the people they’re sworn to protect.

Satya Rhodes-Conway:
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.

John Patterson:
I’ve identified some areas that I think we’re going to make immediate progress on, hopefully in 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.

Murv Seymour:
For most of the week, traffic flows through this traumatized community pretty much like normal. But the sense of permanent peace and normalcy in and around this intersection remains to be seen.

Jackie Morris:
The community needs some kind of closure, and we need to be able to trust the police, the ones who protect and serve us instead of the community against the police, the police against community.

Murv Seymour:
And that’s something both sides can agree on. Reporting from Madison, I’m Murv Seymour for “Here & Now.”