Three Shots In Madison

Hi,

It's 2.09am, and I'm sending out this missive from Madison, Wisconsin – where early this afternoon, police decided to shoot a black man in the head three times.

I was working on another story in another city, but it seemed important to be here. So I started driving.

Corey Ruiz – we know his name now – was suspected of checking out parked cars. He fled on a bike, and when police caught up with him he was suddenly on the ground. He produced a knife, and was kicked, tased, and then shot three times in rapid succession.

It was broad daylight at a busy intersection, all captured on video that quickly spread around social media. You can hear locals screaming in disgust. It's lucky some of them decided to record, because the police in Madison don't wear body cams.

The scenes tonight were strange, because I felt like I was back in Minneapolis watching candles burn for Alex Pretti.

The buildings were made of the same brick, and in the haze of a very long day I forgot where I was for a moment. Madison, Minneapolis – they both had people forming a circle around the spot where a life was lost. Signs; flowers; a loudspeaker passed from person to person.

Like in Minneapolis with George Floyd, there's history here, too. A man next to me explains that back in 2015, police killed another black man on this very same street. Tony Robinson was having a mental health crisis and was unarmed. Armed, unarmed – words used to justify who it's OK to kill, and who we leave be. Three years before that, Madison police killed 30-year-old musician Paul Heenan in a nearby parking lot. That was three rapid gunshots, too.

Three deaths, by police, all right here.

I'm a little lost for words, so I'll leave you with some photos I took. Things were peaceful when I left. People were seething, but nothing was on fire.

Daylight will reveal how a busy city deals with the gravesite in the near-middle of an intersection. There's a vigil planned for 5pm; I can only imagine the anger will grow.

As it should.

David.