Madison officials, cops clear protesters from encampment at police shooting site

Madison city workers, police and state patrol officers cleared protesters from the intersection of Williamson and South Baldwin Streets early Tuesday morning, putting an end to the encampment that had blocked off the major east side intersection since a Madison police officer shot and killed Corey Ruiz there July 22. 

Starting around 5 a.m., officials announced through loudspeakers that the barricades blocking the streets would be removed and the gathering dispersed. Videos posted to social media show a chaotic scene at which police grappled with protesters and deployed pepper spray. City officials also towed away the replica George Floyd fist statue that was brought to the intersection last week. 

Dylan Brogan, a spokesperson for the city, said the city planned to let non-police city staff lead the effort. 

“The plan was for this to be led by non-law enforcement city agencies,” he said, adding that the unhoused people staying at the site would be given the opportunity to stay in a hotel and that people’s belongings would be available for pickup at Demetral Field, located about 2 miles northeast of the protest encampment site. “The message was delivered loudly that people had to get their things together.” 

The city announced that the intersection was open to traffic at 9 a.m.

In a statement released Monday evening, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway warned that the encampment would be shut down on Tuesday — stating that Ruiz was “no longer at the center of the current crisis our city faces.”

“For almost two weeks now, City of Madison staff and elected leaders have been on the ground and communicating to and through community leaders to peacefully resolve extremely complex, emotionally fraught circumstances that started with the police taking the life of Corey Ruiz,” Rhodes-Conway stated. “Countless efforts have been made to convince people that the occupation of Williamson Street and Baldwin Street is counterproductive. A huge amount of patience has been given because the last thing Madison needs is a large-scale police operation. That’s why those occupying the area need to leave immediately.” 

She added that the protesters at the site were making demands that city officials have no authority to meet, only extending the closure of the intersection which had begun to take a toll on the businesses in the culturally important Willy Street corridor. 

“There are too many residents and local businesses suffering because of the occupation, and it’s become increasingly clear that unsheltered people are being used as leverage for demands that, frankly, the City of Madison cannot deliver because we do not have the power to deliver them,” Rhodes-Conway said. “As we and others have repeatedly explained, the City cannot make an arrest or bring criminal charges — that authority rests with the Dane County District Attorney following an independent investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice. The City does not control this timeline.”

“I’m increasingly alarmed that those supporting the occupation at the intersection of Williamson Street and Baldwin Street are either purposefully ignoring the harm being done, or deliberately hoping that the situation spirals further out of control,” she continued. 

After the raid at the encampment, protesters marched outside Rhodes-Conway’s home, video posted to Facebook by local activist organization Freedom Inc. shows.

“If we don’t get no sleep, you don’t get no sleep,” the organization said in its post. “How dare Mayor Satya send her goons to raid the Corey Ruiz Memorial Encampment full of women, children and pregnant people.”