The Politicization of Law Enforcement and the Cost to Society

By now, much of the nation has heard of Corey Ruiz and the shooting that took place in Madison, Wisconsin, on July 22. This has raised questions about the type of training police officers receive, police budgets and the overall police presence the public wants in Madison right now. It has caused debates among friends, on social media, during press conferences and even at the family dinner table. But while the general, largely uninformed public will attempt to draw conclusions from an investigation that is not even complete, I will try to give my two cents based on what I’ve experienced, including having watched the full video.

First and foremost, I will say that I was actually in downtown Madison for my weekly men’s group that Wednesday, shortly after the shooting happened. When I first read the initial report in the news, it seemed pretty clear-cut: A man was trying to break into cars and steal bicycles. When confronted by police, he fled. When they caught up with him at an intersection, a struggle ensued. He pulled a knife, an officer was stabbed and the suspect was shot.

At the time, it seemed like a clean shoot: You pull a knife on a cop, and the cop then shoots to stop the threat. Let me repeat that: THEY SHOT TO STOP THE THREAT, not to kill him, not to wound him and not to fire a warning shot. There is no such thing as shooting someone in the leg. That only happens in movies and is extremely hard to do under stress. For those of you who may not be aware of my background, I worked for a few years in law enforcement before realizing it was not for me. And yes, I do live in the Madison area and have lived here for more than 20 years, although I live in the burbs now. Although I never worked for the Madison Police Department, I worked with other area departments that worked closely with MPD.

Back to my earlier point, police officers are never trained to shoot to kill or for any outcome other than stopping the threat. If someone dies or is wounded, or if the officer misses, those are consequences of the officer firing his or her gun in response to deadly force. That leads me to my second point: You always meet deadly force with deadly force. This is part of the use-of-force continuum. Now, I have been off the job for more than 15 years, so my recollection or explanation might be a little rusty, but to many officers reading this, this should just be a reminder about use of force as well as defense and arrest tactics, or DAAT.

One very uninformed civilian told me they did not have to kill him because he only had a knife and could have used spray, rubber bullets or a Taser. First of all, a Taser was deployed, but, big surprise, it didn’t work. Tasers only work about 50% of the time. Also, the average beat cop does not carry rubber bullets. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Madison Police Department reserved these for tactical teams. In addition, you do not meet deadly force with something like pepper spray because you are likely to get yourself or someone else hurt. If someone comes at you with fists, you meet them with fists, a Taser, spray, maybe best reserved for someone who is just resisting, a baton, etc. If someone comes at you with a knife, a gun or another weapon, you bring out your firearm. You want to make sure you always outmatch the suspect because, at the end of the day, you just want to go home alive.

With that said, yes, he did produce a knife and injured an officer. But I have several other issues with this after watching the full video. First and foremost, the scene was absolute chaos among all four officers. There were no team tactics and no communication among them. They teach us at the academy to communicate with each other, work together as a team and say things like, “Partner, you take the left arm. I’ll take the right arm. You take the feet. Now cuff.” I did not see any of that in the full video. Keep in mind that this is not a video edited by left-wing socialists. It was made public by a former field training officer who also broke it down.

I also have trouble with the officer who ended up shooting Ruiz. At one point, he is seen kneeling on the ground, just holding on to Ruiz’s hand without what seems to be a strong grip and not really assisting his partners. In addition, I really have a hard time with the fact that four officers could not subdue one suspect. Someone brought up the idea that Ruiz may have been on drugs. Possible, but not probable. I don’t think someone on drugs would be able to coordinate an attempt to steal a car and then flee. People on hard street drugs exhibit more erratic behavior: They stand their ground, walk down the street and assault random people for no reason, etc.

I think this was just a matter of four out-of-shape cops who could not do their jobs and were set up to fail the moment they were hired. But again, I don’t think this is their fault. I think their department failed them, their chief failed them, their human resources department, command staff and union failed them, and their mayor failed them. The Madison Police Department has been under pressure to hire DEI candidates for many years. I can attest to this. In essence, the people qualified for the job are not getting hired, and people who fill certain quotas are hired, putting them and the public in danger. It is widely known that fitness standards and hiring standards went out the window years ago, and heaven forbid you try to implement any standards, because that will entail a lawsuit.

Looking closely at the video, I also have a hard time with the fact that the officer who fired the shots wore his Taser on his strong side. We were constantly told never to do this, but whatever. People do stupid things for stupid reasons. I almost feel that he pulled his gun intending to use his Taser, much like the BART officer in the 2009 Oscar Grant shooting in Oakland, California, who said he thought he was using his Taser but instead shot and killed Grant.

The thing I have the most trouble with is that, at the moment the shots were fired, yes, the knife had already been produced, but Ruiz was lying almost prone on the ground. How can someone who is not advancing toward you and is lying prone on the ground still be a threat? Why did these four officers, even though they were out of shape, not use that opportunity to jump on him and take him into custody?

I was speaking to someone about this. Numerous people have approached me about the subject, even though I have made it clear that I do not wish to speak about it. All this person could say to justify the shooting was, “Well, he had a knife.” Well, you can have a knife and be 200 feet away and not pose an immediate threat, or you can have the knife holstered, too. There are many situations that do not merit the use of deadly force. I do not think that he was a threat once he was prone. But then again, I was not there and do not have the information the officers there had. The person I was having this conversation with kept repeating the same thing, and I said they were letting their emotions get the best of them while ignoring facts. Go figure, they had not looked at the video.

Regardless of what happened, this incident, like many others, has been politicized, as has law enforcement in general, and that should never be the case. Politicians should not be talking about this while there is a pending investigation, and it is irresponsible of them to call for an independent investigation when an outside investigation is already underway. The Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation looks into these matters and does a great job, too.

At the end of the day, all I can say is this: No, someone’s criminal record alone or an attempt to break into cars does not mean a death warrant should be signed. But at the same time, I will ask all these rioters, not protesters, because that is exactly what you are when you block streets and businesses: If Ruiz were still alive, would you let him live in your home? His family knew he was homeless all this time and did nothing, but now they know they can use him for a payday, and suddenly he becomes a saint. Why did they not help him when he really needed them?

Nevertheless, I do think that what is going on in this city is wrong, and it would be a shame if it turned into another Kenosha. Many people, especially business owners and families, are worried about that.

All I know is that no one is disturbing my peace for the sake of an argument: “Oh, well, I just want to get your opinion.” No, they don’t. Everyone has their set responses and just wants me to speak so they can respond. They want to listen to respond, not to learn. As my nephew used to say, “Everyone is worried about the world burning when their own house is on fire.”

In the words of Bobby McFerrin, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”

_____________________________

Nader Gamez is a contributor to The Havok Journal with a background in Wisconsin law enforcement, corrections, and mental health settings. He earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and has worked with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, the Waukesha Police Department, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, and Mendota Mental Health Institute. He has also competed in amateur boxing and played rugby with local clubs. For The Havok Journal, he writes personal essays, commentary, and poetry that often reflect on hardship, identity, resilience, and mental health.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.