Ruiz family speaks out as third night of protests draws hundreds in Madison
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) — Demonstrators gathered for a third consecutive night Friday following the police shooting death of Corey Ruiz, marching through downtown Madison after Ruiz's family spoke publicly for the first time since his death.
Hundreds of people gathered to demand accountability from the officers involved in the shooting before marching from the memorial site at Baldwin Street and Williamson Street to the Madison Police Department.
"I wish I could see him one more time," said Ruiz's daughter, Kah'liyah Aliomar. "I wish he could tell me how much he loves me one more time."
Aliomar became emotional as she addressed the crowd.
"People, whoever is saying, 'Oh but he was a criminal.' So what? He had a family. He had me."
Ruiz's mother, Elsa Ruiz, also spoke about her son.
"He loved his family," she said. "He did not deserve to be taken out like that."
Earlier in the day, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing the Ruiz family, criticized officers' actions during the encounter.
"We saw an execution," Crump said. "They not only tackled him, they not only tased him, not only kicked him. They shot him three times."
Meanwhile, the memorial at the site of Ruiz's death continued to grow. Protesters established a more permanent presence with tents, food and mattresses as they vowed to continue demonstrating.
"I'm so angry, man. When I first saw this, and I watched it on my phone, it brought me to tears," said demonstrator John King.
King said organizers want their message to remain peaceful despite the growing attention.
"We are doing our protest around the right way. We are not causing any harm. We're not trying to cause division. But at the same time, we want light shed on what's going on."
As the evening progressed, demonstrators marched through Madison to the police department before returning to the memorial site.
"We're out here to fight. And we'll keep fighting and we'll keep fighting until we get what we need," said Jazzman Brown, Ruiz's childhood friend.
Brown said protesters are demanding accountability.
"If we don't get demands soon, we will shut down the police station."
While protesters demonstrated outside the police department, they did not attempt to shut it down before returning to the memorial.
CBS 58 observed a diverse crowd representing multiple organizations and communities throughout the demonstration.
No Madison police officers were visible at the memorial site at Baldwin and Williamson streets or during the march and protest outside the police department.