Fatal Wisconsin Shooting Sparks Outrage: What Cellphone Videos Reveal

Cellphone videos of a police officer's fatal shooting of a man in Madison, Wisconsin, which Newsweek has reviewed, show the moments leading up to and after the officer opened fire in the middle of an intersection on Wednesday.

The shooting quickly prompted protests in the city, with crowds marching to the state Capitol on Wednesday to demand accountability.

Two cellphone videos of the shooting captured by witnesses have circulated on social media. Madison Police Chief John Patterson said at a news conference on Wednesday that the footage circulating online was only one perspective of what happened, adding that it "is not a full overview of everything."

The man the police officer shot and killed had injured the officer with a knife while resisting arrest, Patterson said. The police chief added that the man who died was in his 30s, but he did not release his name.

In a statement provided to Newsweek, Wisconsin state Representative Shelia Stubbs confirmed the man's name was Corey Ruiz.

"I am deeply saddened and disturbed to hear of the death of Corey Ruiz after he was fatally shot by a member of the Madison Police Department. This never should have happened. Mr. Ruiz should still be alive," she said.

Divided Reactions to the Madison Shooting

Witnesses to the shooting have questioned whether the use of deadly force was necessary. Michael Doubek, who filmed the shooting, said he did not know the details of what led to the encounter. "But from where I was standing 10 feet away, that looked an awful lot like an execution to me," he told Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR).

Republican state Representative Jim Piwowarczyk, a former police officer, said he believed the officer was likely justified in using deadly force. "An officer must fear for his life or great bodily harm to himself or others to justify deadly force. I believe he met that burden," he wrote on Facebook.

The incident is not expected to have been captured on body cameras, as the Madison Police Department is one of the few large police departments in Wisconsin that does not use them.

In her statement, Stubbs said the shooting was "a grave example of the need for body-worn cameras."

"My thoughts are also with our community members who witnessed and were traumatized by this shocking and distressing event, especially the brave individuals who recorded footage with their phone cameras," she continued.

Stubbs added, "If Madison Police Department had body cameras, we wouldn't need to look to civilian footage for answers."

Viewer discretion is advised because of the deadly and violent nature of the content.

Police Converge on Intersection

A video posted on Instagram shows a person riding a bike into an intersection and then appearing to fall off onto the ground. Police vehicles can be heard nearing the scene with their sirens on.

Later, the video zooms in on multiple officers who appear to struggle with the man on the ground. Then, seconds after another police vehicle enters the intersection, an officer is seen bending down slightly and firing three shots.

That video was posted by Richard Hegwood, who lives at the intersection and witnessed the shooting, WPR reported. Hegwood told a reporter that he began recording when he saw police chasing a man on a bike.

"They catch the dude, they have him on the ground. He's struggling, he's struggling to get up, and that's when they shot him. They shot him three times," Hegwood said.

"I never saw a weapon. He never brandished a weapon," he continued. Newsweek has contacted Hegwood for comment via Instagram.

Officer Yells, ‘He’s Got a Knife’

Another video, captured by Doubek, that shows a closer vantage point was obtained and posted on social media by news outlets such as 12 News and News 3 Now.

That video shows three male officers in a struggle with the man before one of the officers alerts the others to a weapon. "He's got a knife," the officer can be heard saying repeatedly.

A fourth officer, a woman, is seen approaching while brandishing a Taser. She is heard shouting, "Taser, taser, taser," before deploying the weapon, after which the man appears to fall to the ground.

Shots Fired at Close Range

Within three seconds of the Taser being deployed, one of the male officers is seen bending down and firing three shots at the man at close range. That officer is then seen appearing to place his weapon back into its holster.

Doubek's video shows the officer who deployed the Taser backing away in the moments after the shots were fired.

The video also shows the officer who fired the shots bending down and adjusting the man's arm before getting up and walking out of the camera's frame.

A knife does not appear to be seen during the struggle, but in Doubek's video, an officer can be seen appearing to seize what appears to be the knife and discarding it on the ground behind him. The knife appears to be the same one police photographed and included in a news release.

Witness Screams at Officers

In both videos, witnesses can be heard shouting out in the wake of the shooting.

In Doubek's video, a woman can be heard screaming: "I saw everything. You did not need to kill him."

What Madison Police Said About the Shooting

Patterson said police officers were dispatched to a call just before 1 p.m. after a report that someone was attempting to enter parked vehicles in the neighborhood.

"Officers located the man. They attempted to contact him, but he fled on a bicycle and then traveled through some nearby backyards," the police chief said.

Officers found him again at the intersection of Baldwin and Williamson streets around 1:30 p.m., Patterson continued.

The man either fell off his bike or officers took him off his bike, he added.

"A physical struggle ensued with officers in the middle of the intersection," Patterson said, adding that during the struggle, the man pulled out a knife and injured an officer.

According to the police chief, an officer deployed a Taser, but it was unsuccessful. The same officer who had been injured by the knife fired his weapon, and the man who was shot died later at the hospital. The police department published a picture of the knife in a news release.

Patterson described the officer who fired his weapon as a veteran officer. But he did not provide any other details about the officer or the man he fatally shot.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation will independently investigate the shooting because of the involvement of police officers, Patterson said. The four responding officers will be placed on administrative leave, per the police department's policy.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Tobias Meyjes and Shakeema Edwards.