In the center of a busy intersection on Williamson and Baldwin Streets in Madison, Wisconsin, several officers from the Madison Police Department wrestled a man to the ground in the early afternoon Wednesday, used a taser on him and then shot him at close range. Unable to cross the intersection, several vehicles stopped and their drivers got out to film the arrest. In videos posted online, residents can be heard screaming in shock and anger. Hundreds of protesters converged on the scene Wednesday evening and marched downtown, interrupting the Concert on the Square. Protest speakers identified the man as Corey Ruiz and a crowd of hundreds of people chanted his name. 

Madison Police Chief John Patterson held a press conference Wednesday, urging residents to keep the Willy Street neighborhood in mind and the “historical trauma” that arises when officer-involved shootings occur. Patterson said that officers responded to a call concerning a person apparently checking parked vehicles. When officers encountered the man he fled on a bicycle, riding through backyards until he lost the officers. They caught up with him again, at which point the man “either fell off or was taken off the bicycle by officers,” Patterson said. 

During the struggle, Patterson said the man produced a “fixed blade knife,” injuring one of the officers who then fired his weapon multiple times. Patterson described the officer as a “veteran” who was the only officer to fire out of the four who were involved in the struggle. Video also shows one of the officers seemingly stomping the man while he was on the ground as the first shot was fired.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is leading the investigation into the shooting. Wisconsin law dictates that officer-involved shootings must be investigated by an outside, uninvolved agency to maintain objectivity. After the investigation is over, which may take weeks or months, a local district attorney reviews the findings and decides whether or not to charge an officer for the shooting. Such charges are exceedingly rare in Wisconsin.

Due to the ongoing investigation Patterson declined to  answer questions about the details of the shooting  Wednesday. Madison police officers do not have body cameras, and Patterson has pushed for body cameras to be included in the 2027 city budget. Patterson said that the man’s family had been notified before he spoke with the media, and he expressed  his sympathies to them. 

Democratic primary candidates in the governor’s race issued statements about the shooting. Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) said that the police had “killed a Black man just a few blocks from our campaign office and just a few blocks from where Madison police murdered Tony Robinson in 2015.” Hong said that she is “horrified and devastated” and that her heart “goes out to his loved ones and everyone who witnessed this tragic event.” Hong said that all police footage of the shooting needs to be preserved and released, and that questions need to be asked of the police department as to why its officers could not de-escalate the situation. 

Milwaukee County Executive and Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley said, “I am horrified by the reports coming out of Madison about a man who was shot and killed in the street by police officers. While details are still emerging and a full accounting of what happened is still needed, these reports are painfully reminiscent of the tragedies in Kenosha, Minneapolis, and far too many communities across our country. Each incident reopens deep wounds, raises difficult questions, and reminds us of the urgent work that remains to build trust, transparency, and accountability in our systems.” Crowley said his “heart is with the individual’s loved ones, who are now facing an unimaginable loss, and with the entire Madison community as it grapples with this tragedy.”

Joel Brennan, another Democratic primary candidate, said that Madison “deserves a full, transparent, and independent accounting of what happened.” Brennan added that “no family should have to wait for answers, no community should have to wonder whether the truth will come out. The Wisconsin DOJ investigation must be allowed to do its work completely and without interference.”

State Sen. Kelda Roys, another candidate in the primary, said, “Let this city wrap its arms around Corey’s family and loved ones, and demand justice for him and them and all of us. There must be a full, independent investigation and the responsible officers held fully accountable under the law, as required by Wisconsin statute. The Department of Justice should serve as the lead investigator to ensure fairness and impartiality. We do not have to accept this as normal or inevitable. It is NOT. No other country in the world tolerates this level of police violence. We can and must create a more just, safe world for all of us.”

Melissa Agard, Dane County Executive, said, “our community is once again confronting the profound consequences that follow when a life is lost in an encounter with law enforcement.” Agard said, “this is not just another headline, this is someone’s child. A family is grieving an unimaginable loss, and our hearts are with them, with everyone affected by this tragedy, and with the bystanders and emergency personnel who responded to an incredibly difficult situation.” Agard said that every police shooting “shakes the public trust and leaves our community searching for answers.” She added, “we cannot become numb to these tragedies or accept them as inevitable.”

Ruth Conniff contributed to this report.

Updated on Thursday, July 23 at 8:04 a.m.

WASHINGTON — A supermajority of the U.S. Senate Democratic Caucus has asked Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to deploy body cameras to all federal immigration officers, following deadly shootings of immigrants in Texas and Maine.

In a July 19 letter addressed to Mullin, 38 Senate Democrats and Maine’s Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, requested information about the shootings this month in Houston of 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and in Biddeford, Maine, of 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero. 

Neither man was the initial enforcement target when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers stopped their vehicles, the Department of Homeland Security has said.

“The unnecessary loss of life in these incidents demands immediate, thorough, independent, and transparent investigations (including the full involvement of local and state law enforcement personnel), along with a comprehensive examination of enforcement protocols, training, and operational approaches necessary to prevent such tragedies,” the senators wrote.

The lawmakers pressed Mullin about providing body cameras to immigration officers, pointing out the Congress has allocated $175 billion to the department since last year. From that funding, DHS planned to hire up to 10,000 ICE officers.

“While DHS has previously acknowledged that body-worn cameras promote public trust and increase officer and public safety, accountability, and transparency, the Department has clearly not prioritized acquiring cameras,” the senators wrote.

None of the ICE officers involved in the shootings were wearing body cameras. 

“Contrary to recent statements made by the Department and the White House, DHS has had more than sufficient time and funding to procure and deploy a body-worn camera for every officer before the end of 2025,” they wrote.

Enough funding

Congressional Republicans last year used a special legislative maneuver to allocate roughly $175 billion to DHS for immigration enforcement, detainment and deportations, without needing Democratic support. 

They used the same move following the shutdown this year to fund $75 billion for ICE and Border Patrol through September of 2029. 

Republicans used the maneuver that allows party-line votes after Democrats refused to provide more funding for DHS unless restraints were placed on ICE and Border Patrol officers following the killings of two U.S. citizens — Alex Pretti and Renee Good — by federal immigration agents in Minnesota in January. 

Among Democrats’ demands at the time was that immigration officers wear body cameras. Top Trump officials, including then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, said body cameras would be provided to immigration agents.

“The recent tragedies confirm that neither of these commitments were honored,” senators wrote in the letter.

Traffic stops unpaused

White House border czar Tom Homan said over the weekend that ICE officers will wear “at least one body camera” during traffic stops.

Following the two killings this month, DHS instructed immigration officers to pause vehicle stops, but President Donald Trump quickly instructed the department to continue the policy.  

During the second Trump administration, federal immigration officers have shot 22 people and killed six, including three U.S. citizens. Most of the shootings stemmed from traffic stops.

In the letter, senators also sought information about DHS’s plan to have an independent investigation into the killings, the vetting process for new immigration officers, the department’s procedures for vehicle stops and any additional oversight and reporting requirements DHS is implementing.

WASHINGTON — In the wake of two fatal shootings in Texas and Maine, U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement officers will wear “at least one body camera” during traffic stops, Tom Homan, the president’s border czar, said over the weekend. 

Homan, who President Donald Trump has tasked with leading his mass deportation campaign, said in a Sunday interview on Fox News that ICE’s acting director has instructed officers to wear a body camera “whenever possible” during vehicle stops. 

This month, two immigrants — 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero and 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo — were shot and killed by ICE agents who stopped their vehicles. Neither man was an initial enforcement target, the Department of Homeland Security said.

During Sunday’s Fox and Friends Weekend program, Homan said he supported body cameras because “they exonerate more law enforcement than they convict.” 

“I want officers to wear body cameras because I want the American people to see what the officers saw when they took that action,” Homan said. 

Federal immigration officers have shot 22 people and killed six, including three U.S. citizens, during the second Trump administration. Most shootings have stemmed from traffic stops, which Homan said officers were continuing. 

After the back-to-back shootings of Salgado Araujo in Texas and Guerrero in Maine, DHS instructed agents to pause vehicle stops, but Trump quickly reversed those plans. 

Congressional standstill

Homan blamed Democrats for the reason immigration agents don’t have body cameras, pointing to the weeks-long shutdown of DHS. He also accused traffic stops of becoming more dangerous because of Democrats criticizing ICE.

“They’re more dangerous now than ever because Democratic members of Congress, Democratic mayors and governors have preached for the past year ‘ICE isn’t a real law enforcement agency. ICE has no authority. Resist,’” he said. 

Democrats refused to approve funding for DHS unless restraints were placed on ICE and Border Patrol officers, such as the requirement for body cameras, after two U.S. citizens were killed by federal immigration officers in Minnesota in January. 

Congressional Republicans last year used a special legislative maneuver to allocate roughly $175 billion to DHS for immigration enforcement, detainment and deportations, without needing Democratic support. 

GOP lawmakers used the same move following the shutdown this year to fund $75 billion for ICE and Border Patrol until September of 2029.

In a separate interview, on CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday, Homan again gave his support for body cameras on ICE officers and blamed Democrats for a lack of body cameras. 

“I think body cameras are the way to go,” he said. 

After the two killings in Minnesota in January, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said DHS would be issuing body cameras to immigration officers.