AILSA CHANG, HOST:
A vigil is planned this evening for a man who was killed by police in Madison, Wisconsin, yesterday. Protests followed that shooting, which happened as multiple officers tried to arrest the man. Now those officers are on leave. Reporter Emily Rizzo is in Madison and joins us now. Hi, Emily.
EMILY RIZZO, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.
CHANG: So can you just walk us through what happened here exactly?
RIZZO: So Madison Police say they responded to a call just before 1 p.m. yesterday about a man who was allegedly checking parked cars. They chased him as he fled on his bike. Four officers were attempting to arrest him when a scuffle ensued in the middle of an intersection. Here's Police Chief John Patterson in a briefing yesterday.
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JOHN PATTERSON: During the struggle, the man, we're told, pulled out a knife or produced a knife - a fixed-blade knife - and an officer was injured by this while attempting to arrest him. A less lethal device, a Taser, was deployed.
RIZZO: Police say the Taser didn't work, though a bystander video shows the man falling to the ground. A moment after he falls, one officer's knee appears to be on the man's back. Then another officer shoots him, firing off what sounded like three shots, apparently in the head. The police chief said the officer who shot him was injured by a knife wielded by the man. Witnesses I spoke to said they did not see the man holding a knife. The officers were not wearing body cameras. Patterson says that's typical.
CHANG: And what do we know about this man who was killed?
RIZZO: Today, city officials identified him as Corey Ruiz. They say he was in his 30s and that he had a family who cared for him. Patterson said the officer who killed him was a veteran officer, but they have not yet revealed his name.
CHANG: And how is the community there reacting to this fatal shooting?
RIZZO: Community members immediately started gathering and protesting at the intersection afterwards. I mean, people are devastated, and some are calling it a public execution. Richard Hegwood (ph) lives and works right near the intersection where the shooting took place, and he was there when it happened.
RICHARD HEGWOOD: I see them chasing this dude. They chase him in the intersection. They catch the dude. They have him on the ground. He's struggling. He's struggling to get up, and that's - and they shot him. They shot him three times in the back of the head.
RIZZO: Hegwood says the man appeared to be Black, though police have not yet confirmed his race. Some are calling for the officer who shot the man to be arrested and fired. And just to get a sense of the anger over police brutality, an activist interrupted today's press briefing, took the mic from Patterson, the police chief, and the press conference devolved into shouting for several minutes. And for context, there have been two other men killed by Madison Police in the last 14 years, and there's a ton of distrust.
CHANG: Well, Emily, what happens next at this point?
RIZZO: So all four officers were placed on administrative leave. The Division of Criminal Investigation at Wisconsin's Department of Justice has started an independent homicide investigation. Also, the community has barricaded the intersection where Ruiz was killed. They stayed there all night into today. There are flowers, drawings and candles honoring his life. And tonight, they've organized a vigil at the intersection.
CHANG: That is reporter Emily Rizzo. Thank you, Emily.
RIZZO: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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