Police Shooting in Madison, Wisconsin Generates Protests

Is this the moment for the return of BLM? That seems to be the vibe after a police shooting yesterday in Madison, Wisconsin. Here’s the police account of what happened.

Officers were dispatched to the Marquette Neighborhood on Wednesday afternoon for a person who was stealing bicycles and checking vehicle doors. 

Officers located the man, but he rode away on a bicycle and traveled through backyards to get away.

They connected with the man again in the intersection of S. Baldwin and Williamson Streets around 1:35 p.m. on a bicycle.

The man either fell or was pulled off the bicycle, this is still being determined, and a struggle ensued with officers in the middle of the intersection.

During the struggle, the man pulled out a fix-blade knife and injured an officer.

Officers continued to try to get the man into custody and a less lethal device, a taser, was used but it was unsuccessful.

The officer injured by the knife is the one who fired his weapon. A second officer was also injured, but it is not clear how that occurred. At this time, we do not think it was from the knife. 

In all, four officers were involved or witnessed this shooting. Only one officer fired his weapon.

Police officers in Madison, Wisconsin do not have body cameras so most of this can’t be verified with video. However, bystanders caught part of the fight in the street and the shooting. Feel free to skip over this if you don’t want to see someone being shot.

🚨🇺🇸 Police in #Madison, #Wisconsin, fatally shot a man in his 30s after a struggle during an attempted arrest

Authorities say the man fled on a bicycle, later produced a large fixed-blade knife, injured an officer, & a Taser failed before a veteran officer fired three shots pic.twitter.com/AoPlrZ5XdR

— GlobeUpdate (@Globupdate) July 23, 2026

The officer kneeling on the ground appears to be holding the suspect’s right arm but it’s hidden from view. One of the officer’s yells, “He’s got a knife! He’s got a knife!” I don’t see the knife in the video because I can’t see the suspect’s right hand. The female officer yells “Taser! Taser!” and apparently fires a taser at him.

That’s where it gets a bit dicey. In the four seconds that follow, I hear a couple of clicks, maybe that’s the taser (or two tasers) being fired. The suspect appears to collapse. He was standing but now his legs go out from under him and he falls backward into the officer behind him. As he falls, the cop who was kneeling on his right stands up, pulls his weapon and fires three shots directly into the suspect’s head. 

I don’t see the knife in the clip, but the police statement (link above) does include a photo of a large kitchen knife lying in the street next to what looks like blood. So there was a knife but I honestly don’t see the suspect use it. His right arm is being held by the cop who is kneeling the whole time. The suspect never swings his right arm (that I can see from this angle). It almost looks to me like he doesn’t have the knife in either hand until he pulls his left hand free and then he seems to reach toward his waist, but we can’t see what happens because his back is to us. However, this guy noticed something I didn’t in this longer version of the video.

When he goes down to the pavement he looks to pull out the knife because the tall cop on the left trys to kick it out of his hand. That’s when the other cop fires. Post shooting you see a knife placed to the right. Officer who fired walks away with cut. https://t.co/qs2qwvOADt

— SteveAustinWI (@SteveAustinWI) July 23, 2026

When he goes down to the pavement he looks to pull out the knife because the tall cop on the left trys to kick it out of his hand. That’s when the other cop fires. Post shooting you see a knife placed to the right. Officer who fired walks away with cut.

Now that he says it, I do see the tall cop on the left kicking at what was probably the knife in the second before shots are fired. Then after the suspect is shot, one officer grabs the knife and places it behind him on the street.

There’s another angle on this but the police vehicle is between the camera and the group in the critical moment before the shots are fired.

BREAKING: Police fatally shoot unidentified man in Madison, Wisconsin.

According to witnesses, the man was shot in the head three times by police.

The video of the shooting was posted by Richard Hegwood, who lives in the neighborhood, to his Instagram.

“They catch the dude,… pic.twitter.com/UnoksxiLDD

— BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) July 22, 2026

Madison Police Chief John Patterson asked people not to make judgments based on videos circulating online.

Patterson said that he has seen some videos but added that other video has not been circulated online and is being reviewed.

“I caution everyone — this is one perspective,” Patterson said. “It is not a full overview of everything that was visible from different angles, certainly visible from the officers.”

But it seems lots of people in Madison have decided this shooting was unjustified. Last night there was some kind of march or rally with chanting.

Protestors have stopped traffic in both directions on East Wash in a march to concerts on the square which is known to draw thousands downtown pic.twitter.com/xuZZcKbWXH

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) July 22, 2026

They demanded the arrest of the officer who fired the shots.

I’m on Willy St in Madison where earlier today police shot and killed a man after receiving a call of someone checking cars in the area. The crowd is chanting, and tempers are running high pic.twitter.com/NhAo6DYCUu

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) July 22, 2026

A candidate for Governor was part of the protest and called the incident “an execution.”

pic.twitter.com/YXlgytpDrc

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) July 23, 2026

There was also supposed to be a concert in the park last night but that was canceled after protesters took over the stage.

Following the police shooting of a man on Madison’s East Side, several hundred protesters gathered at the site and marched to the Capitol Square, where they occupied the stage at Concerts on the Square, prompting the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra to cancel the event.

Calling the shooting “a tragedy,” WCO CEO Joe Loehnis said the orchestra “stands in solidarity” with Madison’s Black community, and announced the concert’s cancellation about 45 minutes after its scheduled start time.

At one point, protesters urged concertgoers to stand in solidarity with them, many of whom did, joining in chants of “Black lives matter.” Protesters then marched back down East Washington Avenue and held a candlelight vigil in memory of Corey Ruiz, the man identified as the victim in Wednesday’s shooting.

The seated crowd was there for the concert.

Protestors have reached downtown and interrupted concerts on the square. pic.twitter.com/QzCc0kqbXF

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) July 23, 2026

Protestors have taken the mic and stopped the concert. One man said “bitch we are the concert” pic.twitter.com/QXblYdZMPF

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) July 23, 2026

Mob of angry protesters crashed a concert in Madison, Wisconsin, demanding “justice” for Corey Ruiz, a black man who was shot and killed by police after he allegedly pulled a knife during an arrest.

They essentially held the attendees hostage while hijacking the stage. The event… pic.twitter.com/J2GALWl4ob

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 23, 2026

This morning, the intersection is still blocked off and people are leaving candles.

A small gathering still here, soundtracked by Alabama by Neil Young. Pretty quiet here this morning pic.twitter.com/wjNClnzZST

— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) July 23, 2026

The name of the officer who fired the shots has not been released, I don’t think, but the DSA seems to be spreading a name online. I’m not going to mention it because I don’t know where they got it.

Anyway, it seems like BLM is coming back with this shooting. We’ll have to keep an eye on this over the weekend. If past is prologue, things could get “fiery but peaceful” tomorrow night.

Editor’s Note: The American people overwhelmingly support President Trump’s law and order agenda.

Help us fight back against the Democrats and Soros-backed DAs that refuse to enforce our laws to hold criminals accountable. Join HotAir VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.