Thank you all for joining us this
afternoon.
My name is Satya Rhodes-Conway.
I'm the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin.
I want to thank Chief Patterson,
Council President Madison, and
Reverend Allen for being here as
well.
And I want start first by
offering my very sincere condolences
to the family of Corey Ruiz.
My immediate concern right
now is for the well-being
of our community.
I want to make sure.
That everyone who needs it has
access to resources and
mental health support.
Those resources exist and are
available to you if you need them.
If you need urgent support,
please use the 988 lifeline.
You can call or text 988
to be connected with that support.
You can also text HOME,
that's H-O-M-E,
or OLA, H- O-A-L-A.
To 741-741.
That's 741 741
to reach a live volunteer crisis
counselor 24-7.
Dane County also has a crisis
hotline. That number is
608-280-2609.
Again, that's 608
280-2 609.
There are also more resources
available on the public health
website, which publichealthmdc.com
slash resources.
This is an incredibly difficult
moment for the Madison community,
and I understand the very
strong emotions that people are
feeling.
I am feeling them too.
As a city, as a community,
as society, we have to do better.
I want to be clear.
It does not matter who
you are or what your
past is.
You should not lose your life
as a result of an encounter with law
enforcement.
That should not happen.
Like many in our community today,
I have a lot of questions and
concerns about what happened
yesterday.
What decisions were made by
officers that led to
escalation instead of de-escalation?
What different choices could have
been made to prevent harm?
What needs to change
in police policy
or training or anything else
to prevent more deaths?
This officer-involved shooting
must be rigorously investigated,
and it will be.
The process has already started with
the Department of Criminal
Investigation, but that's
just the first step.
The DA will play a role,
as will the Independent Monitor and
the Police Civilian Oversight Board.
Our community deserves full
transparency and accountability.
It's really understandable that
people want answers right now.
I want them to.
But the honest truth is that good
investigations take time.
We have to let the
investigation play out.
But believe me,
anything that we can do on the city
side to hasten that,
we will.
And beyond the formal investigation,
I think there are questions that
have to be answered.
The days and weeks ahead,
the Common Council and myself,
as representatives of the community,
will do our best to get and
share information and to
create spaces to have the
conversations that need to be had.
I'm going to let Council President
Madison share more details
about community listening sessions.
But I also want to mention that
there is a vigil tonight that's
planned that I encourage people to
attend if they feel so
motivated.
I also want to emphasize that the
safety of the community is paramount
right now.
People have every right to
peacefully protest, and
I urge people to do that safely and
to take care of themselves in the
process.
The city is working to help
facilitate this.
I'll close with this.
Dr. Anthony of the Urban League said
earlier today in their statement
that public safety
I quote that statement,
a just community must protect
residents from violence and also
protect them from unnecessary harm
by the very systems entrusted
with their safety.
Public safety cannot be measured
only by enforcement.
It must also be measured by dignity,
restraint, accountability, fairness
and the preservation of life.
End quote.
Madison should be a just community.
We can be a Just Community.
But we have work to do to
truly be aJust
Community.
I'll hand the podium to Council
President Sabrina Madison.
All righty,
first of all, can you hear me okay?
Thank you.
All right, so.
I guess for me, I start with,
um,
Corey could be a Charles.
Charles can be a Clyde who's
stepping into the room.
Clyde can be Michael.
Michael can be Tony.
Tony can be Lashawn.
Lashawne can be James.
James can be Randall.
Randall can be Tyrell.
I can go on and on on and on,
but.
Corey could have been my brother,
because my brother is homeless.
He often rides a bike when we meet
up by the...
By the beacon,
and Corey could have been
a Charles.
But speaking of Corey specifically,
Corey has a family who
loves him.
I believe Corey has child.
Cory is a human being.
Cory came from a
mother, a mother
who gave birth to him.
Most of us likely
came through into the world through
a traditional birth, likely.
And so you imagine when you take
this child home, you have
all of these hopes for your kid.
You hope they grow up to be
astronauts, presidents,
entrepreneurs.
Business owners, community leaders.
You have all of these hopes for your
kids.
And as your kids mature,
you know, you begin to, especially
if you're raising a black child and
a black male child, you have to
have very difficult conversations.
My son is 31, and I've
had those difficult conversations,
not just with my own son, but
with my three brothers.
So, the conversations
normally look like, don't
go out by yourself alone.
If the police stop you,
you teach your kid all of these
mechanics of what you need to
do if you're stopped by the police.
Make sure the police can see your
hands.
Pull over right away.
Turn on all of your lights.
All of these mechanisms of just
moving about the world, you sort
of have to give this young black
child all of the restrictions
on how they move about the word
versus this freedom that
exists for white young men
when you're raising white boys, for
example.
I have, most of us have
friends who are white folks with
little white kids.
And I've never heard any
of my female white
friends with children giving
their children the same directions
that I have had to give my son.
So I just want to go back
to Corey is a person.
He's a human being.
He has a family.
He has parents who
loved him.
Who brought him home,
who cared for him, who poured into
him.
And when you're raising a
young person into adulthood,
as they mature into adulthood
you begin to see some of those
hopes that you have for them
realized.
They become parents,
they become career people,
they become high school graduates,
they become college folks, they
became union workers, they become
all kinds of things.
And so for me...
Um, seeing first getting
the call from, you
know, when your council leadership,
you get all the phone calls about
emergencies.
So, you know, I get the phone
call and your
first inclination is to
get online and see what is
happening.
And you know I get online to see
what is happening and I see a video
of who
I will learn later is Corey.
And I don't I don't see
what's happening altogether.
There's some cars in a way, but
I can hear the sounds.
I can here the sounds, I can
the words, taser,
and I can just hear the
shots, and it's the shots that don't
escape you.
And then I
finally see videos with a bit
more detail, and I'm telling
you, I'm like,
my first thought is when the
officer is walking away, why isn't
he walking away in cuffs?
That's my first thoughts.
Because I'm just, I'm
looking at a Corey who can be
a Charles, who can be a Clyde,
who could be my son.
And I'm angry, there's
like no way around it.
And while we know that there'll be
investigations and all of that, the
thing for me is that his death
is final.
And for us who have lost
loved ones and have
grieved loved ones, or for some of
us who may be taking a longer path
to the passing of a loved one,
it is a very
difficult thing to
experience.
So my thoughts are with his
family.
His family that nurtured
him and poured
into him because they
no longer have him because his death
is final.
There's no coming back from death.
So that's where my
thoughts have been.
I, of course,
want an
investigation that's comprehensive,
that's complete, that's not
bullshit, and you know, you want all
of those things.
And I don't want
something that's like a
six month process.
Or a nine-month process, and
we often hear that, you
know, it can be a while.
So I want to encourage everybody,
not just, I guess
I want encourage everybody that
we should all be encouraging and
pushing everyone part of the
process.
Push the Department of Criminal
Investigations to investigate
comprehensively and fairly
and release information as
soon as possible.
We should be pushing and
advocating for our district
attorney.
To charge folks when
the community is reviewing
the information, it may feel through
that information we have received,
the person should be charged.
So I want you to engage your
district attorney, our district
attorney as well.
I want to engage the
office of the independent monitor
because like DCI, they are,
you know, they investigate a body as
well, engage them.
I want your to engage a police and
fire commission.
I spent about an hour on the phone
earlier today from an attorney out
of the Milwaukee area and
a local community member.
And she serves
for her local bodies, police
and fire commission.
I want you to file complaints
with him. I want you file
complaints. With our local Madison
Police Department, I want you
to take every route to
justice for Corey.
I don't think you should limit
yourselves.
I won't you to continue to reach
out to the common council.
I want you to continue to reach out
to the county.
I want to reach to your state
legislators because
if Corey, who can
be Charles, who can be Clyde, who
could be Jerome, who be this
person in front of me,
then if the protocol
to go that quickly
to shoot this gentleman
in the head three times and
that is an option, I
don't know how that is an options.
My brain has not been able to put...
That together as an option.
Because I didn't see anything that
warranted it.
So.
If we are told later
that that was an option because
of what preceded the shooting,
then we need to be
advocating at every level
of government for these
kinds of directives to change.
I don't think we should
end it here, I guess.
I think it's at every local, every
level, of government.
It is every body,
every election, elected folks
at every level of government.
That has a responsibility.
We have folks who are running for
office right now,
are the folks listening, talking to
those folks, how are they going to
respond to this legislatively
outside of their vote on
August 11th or in November?
How does this impact what they're
doing right now?
How does it impact the policies that
they've already drafted and have
been running on?
Do they respond with different
policy legislation?
Do they just get to say, we just
want an investigation?
Well, if they're elected, they have
a responsibility to the voters
to update
legislation around our policing
across the state.
So, the other thing I wanna say
is I've spent a considerable amount
of years giving back to
the community, making myself
available in tons of spaces.
And I'm mostly private because
mental health is not something that
any of us should take lightly.
And I wanna implore, especially
other auditors to use services
available to us.
I wanna employ community members to.
Access resources, my assumption is
that Pastor Allen will share some of
that. But the Behavioral Health
Center from Dane County is a
really great resource and a really
good confidential resource.
I've made a ton of referrals and
have had positive successes with
them over the years.
The other thing I wanna say about
the listening session. Thank you.
We would have held that tonight, but
overnight or some point between
last night and this morning, I
learned there's a vigil for core
today at five o'clock.
So that listening session will not
happen tonight.
I expect to have an update hopefully
by Monday morning because
you know, when you're reserving city
space, there's some logistics that
you need to work out first.
So I expect you to be able to give
an update by Monday morning.
But again, I just want to end by
saying that just as a reminder that
Corey has a family
the family poured into him.
And Corey's family won't get to
see his family's
hopes and dreams for him.
Like the things that we're all
sitting here with who likely for
those of us who have still at least
a one living parent, my mother still
has hopes and drinks for me, you
know. So he his
family doesn't get toe see those
things realized for him
and so
I've had what 24 hours
maybe toe process it.
But I guess I just I just want to
say that That is not
this.
The only thing I can say is that's
not the option that we want
available for us, if
that makes sense.
That's, we should,
the option should be off the table.
And if this option was,
I don't believe it was an
appropriate option to take.
And my hope is that the
investigation shows that it was not
in, you know, maybe
it will, maybe it won't, but
whatever the outcome is, I think all
of us should be advocating.
For that option to be taken off the
table and for training
to be improved.
And maybe we need to be changing our
standards of what it looks like to
know that you're fit to be in
our community, serve in our
communities because too
often we have a quarry
and too often, we have quarry
that doesn't allow, does not get
to sort of.
His parents don't get to see
their everything that they have for
him realized.
So that's all I have.
And she Patterson.
Thank you.
Uh good afternoon um
i know we have new folks in
the in the room um i
want to just introduce myself quick
but first thank you mayor thank you
president uh
madison for your comments my
name is john paterson i'm the chief
of police of the madison police
department uh
i moved here in 1994
i've
been a member of this community
since then and i've served
our community.
For about a year now as
your police chief,
but I've served as a member of the
department since 1998
I want to begin by speaking
plainly.
Yesterday a young man, a young
member of our community died
after an encounter with one of our
officers.
He was in his 30s and
I know he had a family who cared
for him and
I knew he had community who cared.
His family is grieving today
and our entire community
I believe is grieving alongside
them.
I don't want to rush past that
fact.
To share with you
what will come next.
I want to take time to outline the
process for all of
you when a death occurs
in any community
in Wisconsin that involves police.
This is an open and active homicide
investigation right now.
In accordance with state statute,
long-standing practice, the Madison
Police Department has for a
thorough and independent
criminal investigation into
yesterday's shooting.
So at the request of us
at the MPD, the
Wisconsin Department of Justice
Division of Criminal Investigation,
or has been called DCI
by me and others in the past,
they will lead this homicide
investigation.
As you know, DCI is a statewide
agency.
They have experience and expertise
in these types of situations.
These types of situation that
involve police and police shootings.
So they are fully in charge of this
investigation.
DCI is fully in-charge
of this investigation.
During these investigations,
their agents quickly respond to the
scene, they process it
for evidence, they
thoroughly document the scene,
they analyze video that they can
find, canvas for
video, they interview witnesses,
they create their own documents.
DCI will also release the name
of the officer who fired his
firearm at some point in their
investigation and I sincerely hope
that is soon.
Once all of the facts and
information have been gathered, DCI
will then present it to the district
attorney's office for
that review and decision.
So this process exists precisely
so that no department in Wisconsin
investigates itself and
its own actions involving
its community members.
I'm not gonna stand here today and
render a verdict or an opinion about
what the investigation will find
because I believe that will
jeopardize what we all want,
which is independence, an
independent review.
What I can promise you
is that this department will
cooperate fully with DCI
and we will not hide from any aspect
of this investigation.
So I've been thinking a lot today
about a former chief
who led this department for 21
years, David Cooper.
So long before community policing
was a phrase that
people...
Seem to use casually now, he built
this department upon that
conviction.
Um, he builds it upon something
he would plainly, uh,
say that you cannot
do the job unless you have the
support of your community.
Years after he left office,
um, he wrote something
that I think this department has
to sit with very honestly right now.
He said that the use of physical
force by police is
a sacred and public trust.
More than, he also
said that more than the force
of department uses, the less
trust and support it has from the
people it serves.
The more force we use,
the more trust we have.
That is the tension that we are
living through right now in this
city, and I can physically
feel it.
I also want to name something
directly because I know the city has
not forgotten about it and will not
be silent about it.
And I referenced it somewhat
yesterday, but this shooting
happened a block and a half from
where Tony Robinson was shot and
killed by a Madison police officer
in 2015.
It happened near the same corner
where Paul Heenan was
shot and killed by a police officer
in Madison in 2012.
So three fatal encounters with
your police department within
roughly 14 years
on the same handful of
blocks.
I'm not going to stand here
and draw a legal conclusion about
any of the three, but I'm saying it
because I think we all have to
recognize it.
We have to recognize the trauma
that this community.
Has gone through is experiencing now
again and
pretending that this is the first
time I would ask this
community to forget trauma and
forget losses endured.
And I will not do that.
Trust in this department is not
something any of us can assume.
It is by far our greatest commodity.
It must be earned continuously, and
I think it can be lost in
a single afternoon.
The thinnest of trust in the city
right now did not start.
Well, we can shut this down.
You can stop talking, because we
don't want to hear anything you've
been saying. You're going to say the
same thing you all say every time a
black body gets shot down in this
city. This is a corrupt city.
That's right.
Have no fear.
The anti-Zionist is here.
You understand me?
You won't be able to talk today,
because I'm going to keep talking,
because I was born to talk my talk
and walk my walk, too.
I told these young people back here
on our way here that we have
the power. Not that badge,
not that weapon.
We have the power.
The city of Madison is corrupt.
From the DA to the,
what's the name of this, the
Department of Independent
Monitoring. We don't want any
of that talk.
You've given us this speech
with, you'll deliver justice.
Oh, we've seen the cameras.
We've seen. It was a knife in this
young man's hand.
We don't want to hear that today.
We didn't want to here it when they
put their neck on George Floyd's
neck. We don't their foot on George
Floyd's neck and we don't want to
hear it today.
That's the what do you have to say
about that?
Oh, you don't get to talk, and I say
it. Right.
Go ahead. Enough is enough.
I'll step aside.
That's right, give me this
microphone then, excuse me.
That's, right. My name is Carlos
Stanton.
I represent AppTap, all power
to all people.
Zero power to Zionists,
zero power to capitalists, zero
power.
Colonialism.
What you are doing right now in
this city is continuing
the disgusting
nature of colonialism,
the disgusting nature of
imperialism.
Look up the definition of
imperialism, it's all within the
policies, which means when these
police officers come down on
the street and they decide that they
want to take the life of another
brown body, there is no oversight
for that. That's imperialism ladies
and gentlemen.
This man signed up to be
an enforcer of imperialism.
Is there anybody else wanna say
anything?
It doesn't matter what okay the
people want to talk come
up here the people want to top the
people wanna talk come over here
this is our our press conference
and i put my lips all over
this microphone power
to the people no power designers
that's right anybody got
anything they want to say let us
know you got some questions y'all
want to ask ask us some questions
We're taking questions,
anybody.
I didn't think so.
Turn up your Zionist noses,
because your entire communications
and media department is all about
Zionism and colonialism.
We will not stand.
I am a part of the class that has
been oppressed and struggled my
entire life.
My grandmother struggled, my mother
struggled, that grandmother
struggled. Those people struggled.
We go back enough far enough and
we can see that there was a white
European that us that
stole land that committed genocide
right here on America and you
guys want to host your bourgeoisie
revolution you guys want to run your
mouths about the how
Disgusting socialism is you haven't
seen socialism.
Okay. I am a revolutionary
Intercommunalist, okay.
I believe that there is no
separation of the struggle.
You see my hand right here This
is how you fret. This is
fragmentation all of these struggle,
Palestine Congo America
Sudan Venezuela, but
when you put that fist together you
get the power of intercommunalism
So I'm on Donald Trump side.
Okay I don't like communism because
you guys have rebranded communism.
You guys have took socialism and
the fight for liberation and turned
it into something you can profit
for. Just like the
non-profit organizations inside
of this city, I've seen the
paperwork. I've followed the paper
trail. I have smelled the Zionism
all throughout your city.
It is time for you guys to wrap
it up.
It's time to go.
You don't have no questions.
Let's go. It won't be no meeting
today.
You go go for it.
That we are all here for a
conversation.
And I would like
to hear what
the police chief has to finish
saying.
And I want you to also be a part of
that conversation because this is
an opportunity for us to have
a conversation
So what you're doing is you're
coddling up to imperialism, brother.
There will be no coddling to
imperialist. If you don't have a
question about what kind of charges
are going to be brought by the no
soul, you are coddling imperialism.
I don't stand for that.
Oh I'm fundamentally
rejected, brother.
You can get out.
If you got some questions about
what's going to happen to these
pigs that killed that young man
because he appeared to be homeless,
then let us know.
Will there be just so, so,
that sounds like a song.
There will be no investigation.
That sounds like a song, there will be no investigation.
The police have asked DCI
to do is a homicide investigation.
Oh, oh, oh. One second,
because I don't do the other number.
I don't care.
I don't care. I don't do that.
They invited you to this room, young
man. They didn't invite me.
I don't. Care.
You don't have a question.
You have an opinion that coddles
to capitalism.
Your opinion coddles
to imperialism.
Hey, that's coddling,
nope, for too long,
for too long.
Matter of fact,
you know what, we're not having no
conversation. And I'm giving him the
answer. He said, what is
the charges being brought up against
the officer?
They're asked for it to be a
homicide investigation.
And that's how we all are here.
Right.
So we gotta have a conversation.
We don't have to monopolize
to get our point.
This microphone ain't even on.
No, I don't get to respond back to
him, brother. I know the response.
You are out your mind.
If you think you're going to
hypnotize
me. To believe that this young
man is going to deliver anything
other than what we have
already been through.
That there is no difference.
This is a clown show.
This a puppet show.
Stop it.
That young man there in all of these
offices with these badges are
puppets.
The media are puppet.
That's right, y'all turn the cameras
off. I know you're an idiot, because
you better do it, because I said I'm
an anti-zionist.
I'm anti-imperialism.
What's your question?
Can he talk?
It's on the side.
I like that answer.
What's your question? Can I let him
finish so that we can
actually hear the information?
And now you're yelling at us!
And you're yelling at a black woman,
continuing the discussion.
I don't care.
He's raising his voice.
You're telling him something, and he
should listen.
Because you are on the back
seat.
Do what you need to do.
That's right. All right.
What you're not gonna do is tell
her, tell her this is what she needs
to do about me.
What I'm not gonna do, what
I'm what I not gonna do is,
is, hey, you didn't,
no, you don't, you don't get to
walk up on me, brother.
You don't get, it don't matter.
You don't get, you don't, I
ain't no shaking no motherfucking
hands with no imperialists.
I don't do that.
You're in my space right
now too.
Now I'm going back up right here and
if you keep walking up on me, I'm
gonna show you what I'm talking
about. Let me put my things down.
That's aggression.
That's a sign of I'm backing up.
This man approached me.
I dont care if your hand was out
brother. Don't do it.
I'm from the ghetto.
I am from gang culture.
We don't that brother.
Don't walk up on me like that.
I have PTSD.
Okay, okay, good to me.
And that's the problem right there.
Tell him to calm down!
Tell him, tell him to calm
down. This ain't your show, brother.
I'm tired too!
Here too.
This is
all I say.
And these are the ladies
and gentlemen that will rest that
will rest good tonight.
They're going to sleep good.
Good tonight. They're going to sleep good tonight
for us.
That's right.
Get them done.
What's the schedule here?
How long is this supposed to go?
I went to the Black Hawk East
Madison College of UW-Madison.
We don't need nobody that's not from
here speaking for us.
So here's a visitor, and somebody's
gonna let him know that.
I don't care what they got going on,
how they got it going on.
It's a new show, and we ain't
running it like that.
Let the police chief finish it when
he got a say, so we can get our
information that we need, and we can
run with it. So here's.
So here's the thing. So here is the
thing look, it's not your show.
Here's the thing.
We all witnessed on social media
last night.
A human being take the life of
another human being.
Stop it.
Stop. It. Stop it.
Stop it, stop it.
Stop it Clyde.
Hey, this this Negro
only by Clyde get up
out of your car.
Ain't no sir.
I don't condo or capitulate to your
hierarchy.
And I don't know what
type of black man you used to be in
the ground, but you're not going to
disrespect women.
That's right, that's what you're
going to do is get out. Because I'm like
that. No you're not.
I'm LIKE that. Because if you were,
you'd have did. I'm Like that.
Do it. Do something.
Show me how like that you are
then. Show me if you like that,
young man.
I ain't here for that.
I ain't here for.
I'm not here for a good time.
Right! Right!
So y'all need to calm
down!
We don't do that here.
We don't
Hey, thanks for welcoming me in to
Madison, Wisconsin.
I feel great.
I feel good.
I'm the happiest I've been in years
right here in Madison, WI.
I don't know.
No, no, no.
No No.
No. They don't.
They honestly they don't get time to
talk today. Will there be charges
brought up against this police
officer? Like I was trying to say,
we witnessed the murder.
Now, if it in my black
ass murdered somebody in the street
y'all to have me in jail right now
there should be accountability
officer paterson that's all i'm
saying so then we got to disrupt we
got to disrupt because y' all gonna
capitulate we know the script
you you are i'm i'm sorry
you are part of the professional
managerial class and you seem
to be trying to tell me I should not
do what I'm doing right here.
There will be no... No, because I'm
having to put my body on the line
if these people come closer to me.
Oh, no.
No, you won't.
If you love me,
if you love as a black woman,
I'll walk out of this okay.
I feel like you're trying to make me
feel guilty for standing up
for injustice.
I'm sorry.
I think it's not cool,
and I'm going to continue.
I just told
you the logics of it.
A human being killed another human
being.
We need those young people in jail.
We need these pigs in jail tonight.
We need the pigs in j-
are those pigs going to jail
tonight? Where they at?
No, I am listening, and that's what
you're not understanding.
Look, man.
Look, brother, please leave me
alone.
We ain't gonna talk later.
I'm never gonna talk to you.
I don't coddle or negotiate
with anybody that stands
along the side of fascism.
But let them in, it's
talking!
We are men, men are supposed to be
able to have conversations.
Human beings are human
beings. I'm not monopolizing
this. Ain't no monopolizing.
This is a movement.
It's not my movement.
They can strike me down today and
these people right here won't
continue. This ain't my movie.
I know. And every black person that
I see, who matters?
It's enough that the fuck he knocks.
He cares.
Dermot, he cares.
He's a black man.
What the fuck you talking about?
And you a-
You're talking like a fucking coon!
Right? He's not the only black one
in this story.
But guess what, he a black man and
they gon' kill this white man.
Ain't nobody kissing your ass up
in here. Yes you are.
Ain't no body kissing your ass up
here. Yes, of course you are!
We ain't girl queens.
And brother you swell up with
this young lady. I beat your ass you
swell up with his young lady here.
I'll beat your ass in front of
the police you swell
answer. No, I didn't.
Well, supposed to win.
I want I want some answers.
I want some.
The people want to answer.
You say they can't.
Okay, so we
won't answer to this question right
here.
Right here.
We're here in Madison, Wisconsin.
With all these good people in
front of these police, these
imperialist ph's here.
Hey, I'm not calling you a ph, but
you got on that badge, so I gotta
put you there.
And my question is, at what,
what charges are gonna be brought to
the racist police?
To the racist police that killed
that young man, Mr.
Ruiz. So I'm going to get to
the side.
I'm gonna get to decide so
Officer Patterson can talk right now
because there's a.
Can media leave the room, please?
There are rules to communication
and we need to follow them.
We are smarter than that.
We are smart than that!
We don't need to have a
conversation.
I don't ever want you
to be, and I'm talking to my bro
right here, if I
find you in my space or
aggressing towards me in any future
after I walk out this door, it's
about the story.
Hey, we're gonna let this young
man go, we would
like to hear what are the
repercussions from the police,
what's gonna happen to them racist
police officers. Y'all know what to
do. I'll give you that respect.
Y'all got them. We got to have a
conversation.
Hey, motherfuckin' ass.
We gotta have a...
This police chief don't just know me
from walking around.
Please
We can easily have a conversation.
So Mr. Chief Patterson,
please continue on with what you've
got to say, and please respond to
any questions that is asked when you
open the floor.
I will highly appreciate that, and
I'm pretty sure everybody else in
this room would, too.
We're going to stay here either with
them, either with him, we're
going let them talk. Let them talk,
let me talk. All right?
Let me talk, thank you.
Shit
Okay, I
Appreciate you being here.
I know this stuff and
I before you before
you got here
OK.
Get to it.
All right.
The mic. This is not amplified.
Yeah.
Yeah, I gotta be able to talk.
I mean clearly, and I talked about
it before you came in here,
but clearly trust is not
Repeat that so that the people that
are not here that heard what you say
can at least feel what you got.
Hear what you said.
You want me to go back to process
clay? All right.
All right. What I said before you
got here is that this this
is a anytime in the state, there's
a process that involves one
that one of death occurs involving
a police officer.
This is an open and
active homicide investigation.
Okay, so
in accordance, why was the
part of the jail?
I won't say.
Or let him finish, let him finish.
My friend, I will take every
question you have of me, okay?
I just wanna get through this,
cause I think you.
I'm saying you, that's what you
said, bro.
All right, all right, Clyde,
Clyte, Clyt, please.
Clyde?
Clyde. Clyde I'm trying here man.
Please.
Flight, flight,
please.
I'm trying to let y'all go down.
I'm not in.
I'm not amplified over here, I'm
trying you guys, please.
Y'all gonna, y'all making it a
discussion. Please, please.
All you do is sit back and let the
revolution take place in front of
your eyes. The revolution will not
be televised, brother.
It will be live.
Look at me.
Y'all crazy.
Y'alls crazy.
All right, here's what I'd like to
do I'd liked it
Non-profit organization out, and
I don't want to do that.
Let's...
Oh, come on.
Go outside.
Go outside
I'm going to repeat myself, but in
accordance with state statute
and longstanding practice
here, we've called
for a thorough and independent
criminal investigation into
yesterday's shooting.
So at the request of us, the
Department of Justice Division of
Criminal Investigation, they're
often called DCI.
They're going to lead this homicide
investigation.
We are not leading.
So their statewide agency, if you're
not familiar with them, they have
significant experience and expertise
in leading expectations or
investigations, excuse me, related
to police involved shootings.
They're fully in charge of this
investigation.
They're not taking guidance from us.
They're taking direction from us,
they are in charge during
these investigations, they respond
to the scene, they process for
evidence, they interview witnesses,
they canvas for video.
They, they do everything needed to
have a thorough investigation.
Including creating their own reports
and documents.
So they will release the name of the
officer who fired the shots from
his firearm at some point in
this investigation and I hope it
is very soon.
So once all available facts and
information are gathered, they then
take their investigation to
the district attorneys for review
as a criminal investigation, as a
potential criminal investigation
there.
This process exists precisely
so that no department in this state
investigates itself or
its own actions.
I'm not gonna stand here and offer
a verdict or opinion because if I do
that, as your chief of police,
that's gonna jeopardize the
independence of the investigation.
That we all want.
So where is this office, where is
the paperwork being pushed to now?
The Department of Criminal
Investigation is leading it right
now. They're actively investigating
this.
They're a state agency, I am
telling you, with a street-faced
Department of Criminal
Investigations.
We are going to cooperate fully
with DCI.
We will not hide from any aspect of
this investigation.
I assure all of you that.
I'll just finish, let me finish my
thoughts.
She's on my list, Officer Patterson.
OK, I know this young girl I could
give her job needs to be gone.
They do nothing about police killing
people. Let me.
Let me finish, let me finish.
So I had, like I said, I've been
thinking a lot today about a chief
that was our chief for 21 years.
His name was David Cooper.
He used community policing
as a casual, or he
used community police before as a
casual phrase that I think a lot of
people use.
And he stressed that we can't do
this job without all of you.
We need our community, everyone in
our community to do our job
effectively.
And he also said that
force used by us
It's a sacred and public trust.
And the more force that we use,
the less trust that we're gonna have
in our community, I think that
means. The more people walk with
you.
Please, please let me finish.
Finish. You know who I am.
I am the people, all power to all
people. There is no individual.
So this is about the intercom.
I'm gonna tell you
So we can all, we can, let me
finish.
He's not saying anything that we
haven't heard.
Let him get there.
You let him get, and he can get
there! I'm going to be yesterday.
Just because you're all the people,
I'm listening.
Thank you. I'm a one, and I'm an
American.
I appreciate it.
I think everyone in this room can
feel the thinness of trust in this
city right now, right?
I can feel it.
It did not start yesterday and
it's not abstract.
It's a direct result I think of what
our community has gone through and
we have watched repeat.
Same stretch of street,
more than once.
I'm not going to stand at this
podium and tell you that this press
conference is going to solve
anything.
I know that it won't.
I want to tell you what I'm
committed to doing right now and the
first is transparency.
We'll release information about this
incident as quickly and
it's completely as possible as
the integrity of DCI's investigation
allows in the state law requires.
This includes sharing information
with the Office of Independent
Police Monitor
as we can within local ordinance
and within the state law.
We're not going to use an active
investigation as a reason to
not share.
We are going to push for
transparency I'm going to hold the
department to that and hold myself
to that. And the second is action.
We're not going to wait for a final
report from DCI, uh,
to begin the work of examining our
policies, our training and response.
We're going to do that now.
Uh, the review has to start now,
uh and it can't wait.
Third is accountability.
If this investigation finds that
policy training judgment failed
yesterday, I will say it publicly
and we'll fix it.
We must allow the independent
investigation to occur.
So whenever accountability is
needed, it must not only apply to
the individual officer, it has to
apply to police department as well.
If to do otherwise would be a
deflection, and I'm not gonna do
that to this community that's
embraced me for a long time.
Most of what the public saw
yesterday came from that
bystander's phone, not from
this department.
I was asked by
some of you about
body-worn cameras.
As you know, we don't have a broad
deployment of body-worm cameras in
Madison, and I understand that this
fact does create
another challenge to repairing trust
in our community.
You
Uh, we
don't have body wearing cameras.
I think I think.
This family deserves real answers,
not just a press conference,
they deserve a department and
the community deserves a police
department worthy of the trust
needed to serve the community.
I intend to spend whatever I have,
whatever time I have in this job,
continuing that work, not because
it's easy, but again, I
can't do this job and our police
department can't Do their job with
all of you.
I intended to repeat some of what I
said yesterday because we do have
new faces in this room.
So I'd like to take a minute to do
that.
An officer with the police
department, Madison Police
Department yesterday was involved in
a shooting on the city's near east
side in the Marquette
neighborhood.
Dispatched to a call just
before 1 p.m.
For a person who was allegedly
involved checking parked vehicles.
DCI is also investigating other
calls from community members which
may have also involved the
same person, including
one where there was a report of a
male attempting to enter an occupied
home.
This likely caused more officers to
respond to the area.
Officers located the man described.
They attempted to contact him.
He fled on a bike.
He traveled through backyards They
connected with him again at the
intersection of Baldwin Street and
Williamson Street around 1 30 p.m.
I Still don't know if he fell off
the bike or if he was taken off the
bikes. That's still being determined
by DCI Struggle
obviously ensued with
officers in the middle of that
intersection at some point
a knife was pulled out and produced
It was a fixed blade knife.
That was the picture that was shared
yesterday.
This occurred while the physical
tussle was
occurring as they were attempting to
arrest him.
A taser was deployed.
It was not successful and I don't
know why.
DCI is looking into that.
I don t know why it was
unsuccessful.
The officer who sustained injuries
from the knife was
the same officer that fired the
shots.
I don't even have
those verifications right now.
So DCI has that information.
I don't have it.
You don't see it.
Uh, I understand there are injuries
from the knife is what I'm told.
I haven't seen them.
I haven't even seen him.
I don't know.
So a second, a second officer
was injured, but not, we don't think
by the knife, I don't know how that
person, uh, how that officer was
injured, um, I don't know.
Officers tried life-saving measures.
He was taken to an area hospital And
we all know that he tragically
passed away.
And I know this is a...
This is hard in this moment, but I
honestly and sincerely express
my sympathy to his family, his
entire family.
Search him, and then get a
piece of his cross.
Don't say that they didn't like the
termination. Yeah.
So the
officer who
fired his weapon and all
of the others are on administrative
leave. While this plays out with
DCI, it's
standard practice. It's standard
practice. They're off the street.
They are on admin leave.
And while this investigation takes
place that does several things,
including and most importantly
allows for flexibility to get
interviews with DC I done as
quickly as possible.
So this situation was clearly
dangerous, and I'm gonna finish and
I'll try to take as many questions
as possible, okay, I promise.
It involved a knife, it
was clearly danger.
I am incredibly saddened
by this loss of life.
Uh...
I'm sorry.
The Wisconsin, again, DCI is
now independently investigating
this incident because of our
involvement.
We're aware of several videos
circulating around the incident.
I encourage you to the extent you
can to know
that not all perspectives are had
right now. We have not seen them
all. I haven't seen them.
So, let's
go ahead and get started. There is a narrative.
I want to say one thing though.
There's a narrative that's been
circulating around that I have to
address.
It was last night through the night
suggesting that he was handcuffed
before he was shot.
I have seen video that I don't
believe that was the case and I
don't know if others have see it
other.
I just I just felt I had to say
that because it's been it's been
going around by others.
I will I commit to you.
I will be in frequent contact.
That they shot him, it is proceed to
do CPR like he's going to do
something.
The one on the ground around his
head.
I'm going to be in frequent contact
with DCI daily.
I commit to that.
I'm gonna push as
hard as I can for as much
information for them
to share with all of us
as quickly as possible, as soon
as possible while maintaining
the independence of the
investigation.
I want transparency.
I want accountability.
Want open communication,
but but I also want an independent
investigation.
And I think we all have to remember
we can't jeopardize that.
I understand that these things all
have to happen if we're ever even
going to consider being able
to regain your trust.
Those were the comments I wanted to
say I want to give Pastor Allen from
Mount Zion Baptist an opportunity to
speak and then I will stay and I'll
answer as many questions as I can.
Thank you
I want to say, uh,
the emotions that the young man just
presented here, that's how all of us
are really feeling.
Uh, we have been challenged
by this, um, for
many, many years.
Um, and it seems as if when
we see that happen to
someone, a black or brown body is
having to one of our brothers as
Sabrina was saying, our brothers or
someone that we're related to.
But that pain is felt by all
of US because it has become so
consistent.
Um, the challenge that we often
face with that after all
of the marching, after all the
yelling that we do after all off
the protesting, things just go
back to the same way.
And so I think our intentionality
is to ensure that
we continue.
Sabrina also stated the pressure of
asking the right questions,
talking to the right people and
making sure things are happening to
the benefit of our community.
Um, so
We are here today and first
let us honor or recognize
that a life was lost.
No matter how much we are angry,
how much were upset, no matter
what the investigation or the rules
or the laws are, somebody lost
a father, a brother,
a son, uncle,
a life, a grandson.
A life was loss.
And for me as a pastor,
I deal with death and dying and
people that endure
so a loved one passing away.
Sometimes it's in the hospital.
Sometimes it is sudden because of a
heart attack.
But the challenge now, this family
has to watch their
loved one die on camera.
And I'm challenged by that.
Because even my children,
they see this.
Our kids are seeing this trauma
lived out before their
very eyes.
The other day, I served in the
United States Army for 10 and a half
years.
I didn't see a dead body until I was
in Iraq or Afghanistan.
And now my kids are constantly
seeing this.
I'm also challenged by this because
I've seen soldiers,
18, 19-year-olds deescalate
situations without no one
dying.
So I'm really challenged
by that and
wondering what are our practices?
What are we doing to make sure
we're deesclating situations,
and I understand things happen fast.
But what are we really, what are
our intentions for
to ensure that
everyone makes it home safe.
It's a dangerous job, it's
challenging.
Well, how are we making sure
everyone makes their home home safe?
So we stand with the family,
we stand with the community, and
we want to be intentional
about mental health services.
And on every
Thursday at Mount Zion Baptist
Church, we have free drop-in mental
health services from 10
to 2 PM.
So if you know anyone who stands in
the need of that, Police come out
for that.
Uh, we are calling as
chief and the mayor and
the president Sabrina Madison stated
we're calling for truth.
We're calling it for transparency
and accountability because
we want to make sure what's going
on is actually happen
and be taken care of
and not just again, just giving
working with words.
But we want To see actions happen.
We don't just want words.
We moment.
Calls for courage, but it also calls
for compassion and
our role.
My role as a pastor in the church
and I represent the African American
Council of Churches that we'll be
here to have that comfort
for the hurting. But we also will
seek without fear or
favoritism to truth and
also accountability for those
who played in part and taking
this young man's life.
Dr King suggests true peace is
not merely the absence of tension.
It is also in the presence of
justice. So it's gonna be a lot of
tension. It's gonna a lot hurt
feelings.
It's going to be a a lot people
being upset.
But how do we come together as
a community and make sure
that accountability is being
held and people who
are hurting are
being taken serious in this moment.
Thank you.
I have two questions.
First question, once DCI is done
with their investigation,
from my understanding, DCI does not,
they don't present like
an action that comes from it.
They do the investigation, they give
you all the information.
From my understanding the police
department, it's a comment of you
then to make a decision and the PFC
to make the decision on what the
disciplinary actions are.
Is that the understanding?
So typically,
they present
to the DA.
The DA makes their decision
on what's going
to occur.
And then we do an internal
investigation after that
decision. So we don't start that
prior to so that we're not
disrupting decisions as to
swaying it one way or the other.
So once that process with DCI
and the DA is done, That is
largely going to
you know, steer the initial steps of
the internal investigation.
So then the DA can
determine to press charges against
the officer based on a DCEI
investigation? That is solely the
DA's decision, yes.
Do you want to do your investigation?
Second question.
Is there a precedent that we have
seen in the city of Madison that
places officers on administrative
leave without pay?
Because my biggest thing is that
taxpayer dollars are going to
someone who killed.
A person in our shoes and
so for me it's like yes we can place
them on administrative leave but
it's the president's that place an
administrative leave without pay.
There's no precedence for that.
As you know, we're guided by
collective bargaining agreements, by
labor law.
The precedence is administrative
leave with pay.
And I know that a lot of these
situations, this issue comes up.
It does not sit well with a lot
people, I understand that.
That is the process that I have
available to me.
And so the only way to subrogate
that is to go to the policing,
which is bargaining on behalf of
It would take changes in bargaining
and changes in, I think,
perhaps labor law, I guess.
So is the police department working
with them at the moment?
I've had contact with the
IM, Ermeet Glass.
We are committed to working with the
independent monitor.
This is a very challenging situation
because we have two bodies
that need to conduct independent
investigations.
One, which we are going to
follow because it's guided by state
law, which supersedes our
ordinances, is the review
per state statute of this open
homicide investigation.
I have to follow that.
It's state law.
I'm not gonna violate state law...
Uh, and so we will try to
find the best scene that we can with
that law and work
as well with, with, um,
the office of the independent
monitor. Now there are things that
we may be able to share quickly
that are not going to jeopardize
the state investigation and
we'll share those as quickly as
possible.
That they have requested so far.
I have received the request, to my
knowledge, we have not yet provided
anything, because again,
like I said, as part of the
independent investigation,
large amounts, the majority are
going to be created by this
independent agency, not by us.
But again, I think, like I said,
there's a very challenging
circumstance
in front of me where there's this
state law that guides us on what we
do when this occurs.
And then obviously, Madison is
unique with an office of independent
police monitor guided by ordinance.
We were gonna work with the
I. M. We're gonna work.
With our our
team, we're gonna work With the
Department of Criminal Investigations,
and we'll figure out exactly what we
can sharing with as quickly as
possible.
City officials have confirmed
Mr. Luther's name.
Can you confirm his age and date of
birth as well?
So again, I've
seen the exact same information
that you're talking about.
I again, as your police chief,
I'm trying to stay true to the
independent investigation team.
They will release it,
but I believe this is absolutely
correct.
I am asking for as quick of
a release of as much information as
humanly possible.
Of the officers that I was asking
about.
No, I was talking about Mr. Ruiz
as well, so yes.
I have a question for the Mayor.
You can confirm his name, you can
confirm this agent's history.
Has the officer involved in this
been involved in a deadly force
situation?
No, you mentioned the lack of
body-borne cameras.
Has this researched any
conversations around getting those
in the apartment?
I'll take this.
Okay.
So as I think most of
you know, the chief and
the police department have requested
in their budgets
submittal that
the city budget include body
one cameras in the future.
And this has been a conversation
that our community has been having
for a very long time.
And my executive budget
is not public yet, but I can tell
you that when it becomes public
it will include a body worn camera
program for the city of Madison.
Conversations with other older
police department about that quite
yet on this instance.
The chief and I have talked about
this multiple times, not since
this incident.
And I have with Alders
again over years.
Um, it is complicated,
but the last time the council voted
on it, um,
they chose not to fund a program.
Um, that's complicated.
Uh, but I think
I would be confident
that there will be support on the
council for this.
I do want to say that...
Um, before we implement
a full body worn camera program,
it's very important for us to have
the correct policies in place.
I know there's been some discussion
about that in the past and in the
public. And that is something that
I have communicated to the chief.
And I hope that the council will be
involved in and and
been crafting that policy before
we run it.
I'm sorry.
That's an excellent question.
I mean, I think that right
now This is
Can I can I answer the question can
I ask for the question? Thank you
and There's
been a lot of conversation about
that policy, but this is the first
time that We
have had I mean this will
be the first Time when we release
the budget that the money has been
in the budget to actually have
a program
So this is the first time that it's
been real that we would need a
policy.
Yes, sir.
It's a f-
Right. So we have
not funded body worn cameras
in the past.
So we haven't had them.
So, we haven't needed to have a
policy for them.
Now that we will have them,
we need to have a policy for them
I don't think that will be a long
process.
Well, the budget takes effect in
January, so I would
be absolutely positive that we could
do it by then.
That will be part of the policy
conversation.
But she didn't say that, yes,
she said she's not
the one that should be made.
No, I won't be making the policy.
No.
Yeah
Well, I just wanted to know
no no I just want to make sure I
clarify some things from speaker
from the Common Council and the
policy
Wait what? What?
I don't, I wait, just let me just,
let me just level set.
Let me just level set.
I am not here.
I have not here to use this as
opportunity to elevate
myself.
Do you answer for me?
Does DCI provide
recommendations?
Do they give a conclusion?
Do they tell you the direction
that this investigation needs
to go?
Do they get you any type of
recommendations?
Because every report I have.
At the end you all
can read it says that DCI
did not provide any recommendations
they do not do anything of the
sort to hide behind that
and present it as something that it
is not it's an honor
so thank you so
but before before the chief answers
your question i do want to make sure
i clarify from you from the county
council standpoint so in
2025 there were several alders
who wanted to defund the office of
the independent monitor somewhere
around i believe their budget maybe
440 000 or so something
like that and so um
alders did not want to see the
office decimated dismantled
ruined unfunded so
offers i think alders voted maybe 17
to three to keep
the funding that the office has in
their budget, because I would
imagine we all know that body-wear
cameras are quite expensive.
So $400,000 would not
have made a big dent at all.
Also what happened at that
conversation last year is that we
had a conversation on the floor with
Chief Patterson.
You can literally, the other thing I
wanna say is everything I'm saying
is public record.
This is all recorded, it is all on
video, it's all in emails, it's
findable.
But in that conversation we had on
the floor with Chief Paterson.
The Common Council committed to
going into the next year because the
temporary men's shelter was going to
become the permanent men's shelters
this year.
So now that we have secured
permanent shelter for some
of the most vulnerable folks in the
city, I think the
Common council last year was a bit
more, we can do the body-worn
cameras now.
So I expect, I've not heard
that any alders don't support
body-wand cameras this year at all.
And I also wanna just make sure I
clarify because I've gotten his
question.
Probably 100 plus times, like, why
don't we have cameras?
Well, before we got this far,
the community did not want us to
have cameras just yet without some
things in place.
So the community advocated against
implementation of body-wearing
cameras for some
years. And then more importantly,
more recently, the community took a
different turn and supports
body-worn cameras.
And I think there
are cameras everywhere, but just
more importantly where the Common
Council is hearing from residents,
they're coming in to speak to Common
Council. I was not on the council at
the time, but in the time that I've
been on the council, the
support for bodywear cameras has
increased and they'll be funded.
I'm confident that they'll be
funded.
So, let's talk
about it.
It's Helen or Helen?
Helen. So, you said I
was, I guess I just
need to make sure, I wanna answer
your question pretty well because
I like to clarify things.
So when you say that I am police, do
you mind defining that for me?
But every time that you write
amendments that take away from the
independence of the monitor,
we have to spend time on
your amendments that limit our
independence instead of actually
providing vigilance over the police
department. So every
time you do that, you nick away
at our independence.
Sure, now let me reply to you.
So one, I did not write the
amendments, right?
No, no, so I just want to, I'm
answering your questions.
I gave you, I listened to you,
correct?
I've always, the year that I worked
on restoring money for Greg
Gallemick's position, I think we
restored, I was able to restore
$126,000 for maybe
a position or something else in the
office. I don't know if I was police
then or police now what the
difference is, but in short,
those amendments were not written by
me.
The thing that I, no, could you just
let me finish?
When you are in council leadership,
whether that's fortunate or
unfortunately, you sign up for it,
right?
I signed up to become a council
president. I was elected unanimously
to service come council president,
the thing I did not know before
being president is some of the
challenges that existed, not about
investigations, not about the office
of independence, not about them
being able to do their job, like to
do investigations and, you know,
report on and accept reports and
that sort of thing. But just things
like yesterday, for example, win.
Maya reached out to the office
around, I don't know, maybe three
o'clock, if you may remember,
and she was wanting some help
posting an agenda
for a meeting that may be tonight or
tomorrow night.
And when that happened,
we have civil service employees in
the common council office, right?
So Greg, for example, is a civil
service employee.
So those employees
often, or also are
served by two different
labor groups, for examples.
Those labor groups set all kind of
rules, what they can do with
overtime, how long they can work,
who can do for what, right?
So when that happened, I
ended up having to talk to the chief
of staff about it because our chief
of stuff has a four o'clock
appointment. So this is happening,
she has an appointment.
There are two other staff, one of
the staff doesn't really know how to
do this. She's trying to hunt down
that third person who might be able
to pitch in.
It looks like there was also an
attempt to reach the clerk's office.
We know clerk's is busy with
creating ballots.
And so when we had Nicole at
the Common Council meeting, what,
Tuesday night, one thing that Nicole
said to us
is what we're doing, clarifying
or restrictive.
Now, when I booked Nicole to come
here, the one thing I wanted to do
as someone who loves education is
to provide us education.
So that would allow us to go back
to whatever was drafted
prior to us and go back
and potentially make edits because I
think what, I just wanna finish.
I understand, I think, Nope,
I'm trying to answer your question.
No i'm answering your question fully
yes yes
yep yep let me finish let
me finish yes let
me finished let me finish let
me let me finish so
in comic council i have
to be sometimes brought into
things and i'm not going to go into
like the office dynamics that's not
my role to like talk
about all it and i don't think you
would want me to do all of it
And to answer the question, it's
more so how much do you want me to
share open and publicly today?
Okay, so if so if
the if the office of
Okay, my bad.
Let me just say the reason I the
reason. I am continue to sign or
nope The reason that I
am continued to sign on to the
amendment I just want you got your
recording make sure I'm clear so I
can I can be heard is Because
I am still being brought into
operational challenges
However, the amendments are not
final and because we got the
education from NACO from the
law group I expect revisions.
I expect maybe things are gonna be
pulled.
No, no, no.
I, I literally, I literally
expect things.
I think they also think the
No, no, no but wait
no
one had to sign on to NGR's
amendments they could have just died
I'm staff in the office
of the independent monitor.
And you and I have worked quite
productive times in the past.
The pastor referred to the
distinction between words and
actions.
One of our core
rights under existing amendment
is access to
MPD databases.
Unfettered. Unfetter.
Unfetter, yeah.
And you heard Nicole
talk about the importance of
direct access.
Yep, yep.
Please explain why you
are sponsoring, continue to sponsor,
an amendment that would eliminate
our capacity to have
that access and therefore impede
our investigations.
Yep, that's, I'm so glad
that is a great question, Greg.
The reason that I am still on a
sponsor is because there is, you
know, Greg knows if anybody else
doesn't know.
There is a process for amendments
before the common council meets to
vote on those amendments.
Normally we're working with maybe
the city attorney's office,
sometimes going back.
I know the PCLB may have a meeting
coming up where you'll talk about
some things, but we're workin'
on it. I expect the unfettered
thing to be removed.
I expect to think about the
attorney's stuff to be remove.
Because those are things that where
we're in conversations when I'm
coming to your meetings, showing up,
listening to what you all have to
say. And because I'm
serving as common council president,
I'm also thinking like the operating
thing, what can I sort of
help encourage in order to,
so I don't have to be pulled into
things if that makes sense.
So while I understand you, the
reason that I'm still signed on is
because I know it's a work in
progress and it's not final.
So yeah.
If Matt Kenny is still
on the police force,
why are we supposed to trust
that this process will
end in accountability?
There you go!
I actually have a question for Ms.
Sabrina Madison. Oh, yes.
I want to know.
This is a question of integrity,
okay? Yep, yes, I'm ready.
If I were to go through
a database of publicly
documented records.
Yes.
I'm gonna tell you how.
This is how you find all of my
records. You send it, email, yes.
Email.
Yes.
Oh, you can go through those
publicly documented records,
would I find out that your
nonprofit received money from
the city while you were a
sitting out of the person?
What? Yep, so.
Yep, so you'll find in 2021 that
our office received funding from the
city of Madison for a grant that
we were all funded.
Yes, I'm telling it to you.
Yes.
That's against the law.
You shouldn't have done that.
Your trust is down the drain.
So we received funding on a grant
on, just to clear up for y'all.
Oh no, it's not, you can look it up.
Please look it, this
is public record.
There's no hiding it.
So I just wanna make sure I answer.
You can look up the Progress Center
for Black Women.
The year that we got the grant, I
was not in order.
And so then, nope, we were not,
I wasn't in order and then when I
became in order, I- You
separated myself from
it and the grant ended.
The grant ended and it was done.
Oh, no, this is public.
But let me just tell you how to get
my records.
You send an email.
No, no. Send an email,
send it, send an e-mail
to council at city of Madison
dot com.
There we go.
Let's give black women
the space they deserve in
the world.
Everybody else gotta
let black women have their
space.
It's okay, I'm very transparent
about that.
If Matt Kennedy is
still on the police force,
how are we supposed to trust that
this process is going to end in
accountability?
It's exactly why I brought up
the historical trauma
and incidents that have occurred in
the same neighborhood.
It's the same reason
that
I brought it up and I feel
like my job is
to do my darndest to make
sure that this investigation is
independent.
That I am not at
all influencing that in any way.
That I'm not using my position in
any way to influence it.
I'm using historical decisions
that didn't involve,
frankly, anyone in this room.
But we have to ensure
that this particular investigation
has complete autonomy from
this police department.
We're gonna cooperate fully with it.
We're not gonna influence it,
anything they need they're going to
get from us, period.
That's what I can assure you.
And I can't say anything up here,
as you would suspect, that is
going to be able to address
something that we have
all been talking about, I have been
talking for over a decade.
You know that.
Yes, I know you've had your hand up,
so please go ahead, I'm sorry.
So my question is
specific to police training
specifically with defense and arrest
tactics.
Number one, it's kind of a two-part
question, all right?
So number one, are your officers
trained under DAP to
use the least amount of force
possible to overcome a threat?
And if they choose to
use deadly force, do they have to
evaluate, say
after each shot is fired whether
or not the threat is still
there? They're, they're...
Is a standard of of a
threat of great bodily harm or death
that must be articulated to
oneself or to someone else.
And so that is a standards that DCI
will be evaluating when they start
that is the standard we will use
when we do our use of force review.
You clearly have read from the dad
curriculum.
That's good.
That is good.
And that will happen.
That will happen.
Can I jump to her because she's also
had her hand up and I'll come back
to you.
Go ahead.
He said that, well,
I saw on Facebook that the knife
had supposed to have punctured
the police officer.
But then I got a witness who saw the
whole thing who called and said,
hey, the knife was found in his
pocket once he was shot.
Can you clarify?
I'm
I don't know.
I don t know that's up to DCI
to articulate and to find
out and to investigate.
I don't I saw a photo of it on the
pavement. That's what was shared.
I don't how it was produced.
I dont know how it got to the
pavement, that's all part of their
investigation that they need to
figure out.
The officer was.
The officer was, all four officers,
including the officer that received
the injuries and the
other officer that had injuries,
they all were evaluated at the
hospital and
they've been released.
So, yes.
Um to clarify the mayor said
that she would request funding
for a body camera program is
that another pilot or is that no
what i
No, what I, well I hope not, but I,
what i've requested in.
It's a full program.
Do you know approximately the price
tag for that and when that could be
implemented?
I don't have the
numbers at the top of
mind, but it's in the police
department's capital budget
request and I assume
in their operating budget request as
well, which will be public soon.
So you could go look at the capital
budget requests for those numbers.
And the program that the police
proposed was a rollout of over
multiple years.
And I believe three years, is that
right, Chief? Yeah, so there was a
proposed rollout over three years.
There is a capital cost for the
equipment. There's also an operating
cost for the technical
support and then the
records review that is required
when you have more video and
people obviously will request that
through an open records process and
they need more staff to review that
video. So that's the operating cost
that's in here.
For the Office of Independent
Monitor and PCOB to be able to
institute and recommend policies
for the rollout of these
body-worn cameras.
So, I haven't received
the budget request yet from the
Office of the Independent Monitor.
That will come as part of the
operating budget, and we'll review
that just like we review from any
other agency.
I'll review the request just like
every other agency comes in and we
review it and we make a decision.
And we'll release the executive
operating budget,
I believe it's in October.
Do you recognize that this is a
really good place to oversight?
I still want to be respectful as
reporters, and you guys are free to
ask questions, but we're just trying
to get people to have a run.
Patrick, maybe, over there?
You mentioned that it failed
to work.
It was unsuccessful.
Okay, good.
Unsuccessful can mean a number of
things. It can mean the probes
failed, it can mean there wasn't
neuromuscular incapacitation for
some reason, it can be a lot of
things, I don't know what happened.
Recognize when somebody is
convulsing due to being
patased versus when they are
considered still of course not
incapacitated is there
a period of time when officers to
wait to see if the
Yeah.
Chief, I am not a use of force
expert, but I can tell you about the
tasers. When there's successful
deployment, there typically is
a five-second time
period that is delivered.
So when, so let me say this,
but say, let me see this.
But that we have to be, let let me
just finish. We have to be careful
with that because if it's not
successful, you're not going to see
the same results.
You're not gonna see the same
You're not going to see this,
but we are also trained to
hear what the
taser is telling us and often when
there's an unsuccessful deployment,
for whatever reason, I don't know,
it could be bulky clothes, it can be
a probe mist or what have you,
you're going to hear something
different. It's going to be audible,
it's going to be very loud.
In an instance where
a weapon of any sort is involved,
if less lethal is an option,
we're going to try to use that as
often as possible, to your point.
So this is all going to be reviewed
by DCI.
I don't know what else to say on
that.
This community is going to mourn
someone whose life was lost
on Willie Street.
You all are members of Madison's
community.
Will you join us to mourne the life
and continue to answer questions
that community members clearly have?
Yes, I'll do my best.
Not a uniform, regular,
community person.
I will talk about it after, yes.
Yes, sir, yes, I'm sorry, he's
had his hand up.
It's very, very, hopefully very
quick. I know you just said you're
not a use of force expert,
nevertheless.
When considering what a reasonable
officer would have done in
this sort of situation,
in terms of whether or not
a reasonable officer would've used
debt divorce, as described
under DAT.
How is that evaluation
effected when there's multiple
officers involved in the same
situation but only one officer
decides to use a lethal force
in a way that I don't understand?
I want to be really careful and I'm
not trying to dodge you but but
I want to be real careful I don't
want to dodge, you I mean that
respectfully but we we all have to
remember what I said you know me
standing here is your police chief
if I steer my
comments in a certain direction or I
render something that's viewed as an
opinion that can affect the
independent investigations I can't
do that I can do that and
so for that reason I'm gonna not
give you a response that you may
want right now I'm sorry I just I
just do now want to impact that
investigation. And no, I appreciate
that, George. I'm sorry.
I'm going to get in the way.
I mean, are you aware of any MPD
officer that has been charged or
convicted in the past of actions
while taken on the force?
George.
Yes ma'am.
We know, by statistics,
that Madison, Wisconsin, is one of
the most racist states to live in.
We're here. We know the black people
are here.
We know that government is trying to
work with all people here
in Madison, Weston.
So we have seen us come
so far.
Madison has been really, really
quiet while the world has been
turned upside down.
And yesterday, our world
was turned upside-down by
a senseless death.
I do believe that,
and this is my opinion, that
if that was
a white person,
he probably would not be dead today.
He probably would have quit the game
today, but he
probably wouldn't have been
murdered yesterday.
So I just want, I'm
here,
can't say how everybody else thinks,
Bye. I truly believe
that if I was a comfortable person
that they probably would be
in your jail, but
not
somebody's mother morning in this
community morning.
So I just want Madison to
be a little aware and just
one more thing.
We know that election time is coming
up and this is very, very
important.
This is super important to
you guys, to us, to our
children, to our future Children.
We ain't gonna go our way out of
this.
The way that we make change is
that we elect those
No, no, no.
I'm just talking real, homie.
We know that the
way we make change is changing
laws. And
We have to rub apples with those
who are lawmakers and
who can really change laws because
we don't want to live like this.
We don't wanna go back to where our
parents used to live.
We don't want to,
the racism, there's no place
for racism in Madison
or within the Lord.
So that's where I'm going with it.
I'm going with it. So we need to
work, let's work together.
I, I,
Let me,
let me.
Let me let me just get to her,
please. Thank you.
Go ahead, I'll get you graded, I
promise.
Between the man that died
and the officer who shot him, were
there any previous encounters that
you had? I do.
I don't know.
My main concern has been
the cost, given the very
severe limitations that the state
puts on our budget.
I think when we initially
got the estimates from
the pilot, there was a
very large price tag.
The chief has worked to bring that
price tag down in various ways,
so it's really just about
the state very severely
limits our budget, both in
terms of what we can
and what we can spend.
I have to present a balanced budget.
So I think with it being
at a lower price tag, it's doable.
The fact is,
even if we get apologies for
these body cams,
what is your department gonna do
when they still murder people in
cold water?
Body cameras are not a solution,
they are part of a solution but they
are not the solution.
What are you going to do?
Thank you.
Can you really assure us that police
fighting will be different and
changed in order to prevent this
from ever happening again?
That's what I mean, they keep saying
it's a profit, it's just
too expensive to protect the black
homeless man from being murdered by
the police. I have a few other
questions that I have to answer.
I'm going to get back here and
look it. I want to get to the press,
and I'll stick around as long as you
want me to, all right?
I already addressed this when I
stepped out, but what was the extent
of the officer who shot
the gun? What was the extend of his
injuries? Was it a slashing?
We mentioned that before I don't
know I don't know I understand
he was injured.
I don't know what the injuries look
like
If that young man had been back,
you guys pushed that paperwork to
say we're going to investigate this
as a homicide, why is
those pigs not in jail?
Your department said, hey,
this is a homicide.
We're going push this as homicide.
Why are those people not in jails?
Answer that question.
Douglas, look at it.
They are not in jail.
What is the reason they are not in
jail, Mr. Patterson?
Douglas?
Right? It's an independent
investigation that
I can't tell them in any
aspect what to do.
If I committed a homicide yesterday,
Douglas, uh, Mr. Patterson, I mean,
if I committed a homicide and I
walked in here today and there were
charges being investigated,
investigating me for homicide,
where would I be right now, Officer
Patterson?
Greg, please, go ahead.
Question by the gentleman earlier,
who was asking about multiple shot
proportionality of force.
There were recommendations from the
MPD policy procedure review ad
hoc committee around force
that had never been implemented by
MPD.
Those recommendations actually
originated with then representative
Chris Taylor, who is now a
Supreme Court Justice.
When if ever does MPD expect
to implement those recommendations
around use of force?
I appreciate you asking that
question, Greg.
Three years ago, we went through a
strategic planning process.
We attempted to include all of the
recommendations from both the
OIR group, from the ad hoc committee
group, from the control center who
also issued recommendations.
I understand that
there is some feelings that maybe
that wasn't done well enough, and
maybe they weren't reflected well
enough. We are committed to
working with your office, committed
to work with PCOB, committed to
working with the entire community.
To bring those recommendations back,
review what's been done, review what
needs to happen.
If there's reasons why they can't
happen, I need to respond to that
and explain why if that
hasn't been done.
It will happen.
Like with it can't
happen there was a lot of law
enforcement inputs like over
a period of years So the
the can't-happen is questionable.
I do I understand willingness
to work with I am absolutely willing
to do that great
Mr. Patterson, we know that
the police department gets a
huge amount of funding.
We know that.
We know you work
with community leaders,
your organization works with
community leaders here in Madison.
But unfortunately...
And not just a murder that happened
yesterday, even murders
around the city.
We know that you guys
invest a large amount of money into,
let's talk, nonprofits.
We know you invest a lot
into churches.
We know, that you invest into a lot
of, what
do they call them, sororities.
We know all of this funding,
we know that
a lot this funding goes
towards programs
through nonprofits.
Okay, we know that.
What we're, what I'm asking here
is that open
the Verizon.
We have, we have other community
leaders. We have other folks
who work with children,
sit them at the table,
look at their programs.
Let's see what's working and what's
not working. If we continue to
invest our money into what's now
working, it is a losing battle
all the way.
So what I, what are requesting is
that, you know,
let's open up to this community,
let's see what can work.
Give it a chance, because it's
not working.
It's not work.
It hasn't worked for a very long
time. Thank you.
Do you want to take a pass?
I'm going to say something.
Because the answer to my
question, you guys, is imperialism,
which is the absolute structure
of why this pig
will go free.
And we have to attack that.
Any other questions about funding
another nonprofit is
us being bamboozled.
We've got to attack imperialism or
we will get no results.
Can we actually
answer that question why
that officer, just to
be clear, did the, did
you recommend that the
investigation is handled as a
homicide or was that homicide?
This is this is an open homicide
investigation period we
asked for the criminal investigation
Okay, so with that
being said, why isn't
that gentleman arrested?
Again
No, just say it because
he was a police officer, and he's
being protected by imperialism,
and imperialism is the policies that
protect these fields, I'm sorry.
If that is what it is,
then just tell us.
You're hiding behind- I'm not
looking.
I've never seen a
civilian- Quiet, quiet.
On a homicide
Clyde, I am not hiding behind this.
This is our process in front of us
that we have to follow by state law.
If you don't like process,
it's a state law that we then need
to all collectively come around.
I'm sorry. It is.
I absolutely can
say with a hundred percent certainty
that I
know well
not What? Not ev-
well not every police officer has
that background
many of us do
all of us have a level of
crisis intervention training some
officers have far greater levels if
they're members of our mental health
unit if they are mental health
liaisons they have elevated
it absolutely is standard and
if we need to expand it that's
when i promised you action
in a review of policy and training
response that includes everything
it's not just use of force.
We will look at everything.
We will try to garner as many
lessons as we can on this one.
I don't know if we are sexual
offenders anyway, but it's like,
yeah, let's say it.
Let's put it out there, and there's
plenty of them.
But we don't trust y'all, so what
we're trying to see is where is this
going, what are we gonna have to do
to make changes before there be
bloodshed on this fucking country
more than it already is?
Because when people start,
you know, don't give a fuck about
life, when they really numb the fuck
out and they start coming to blow up
buildings like this, what the fuck
you gonna do then?
Please tell me.
Because it's gonna happen.
And how can we
ensure that the VCOV,
an independent monitor,
is not attacked by the police
department? I have sat back
and watched the abuse that
this individual
and their program has endured.
And we need to kill.
That needs to stop.
Sabrina and the mayor left.
Like, I need you as
my chief to
kill that noise.
That needs to stop.
Like, there needs to be transparency
with the enemy in the monitor.
The disrespect to this black
woman needs to stopped.
Like, we can't get anywhere where
the pettiness is thriving.
Like, and I've seen it.
And I'm not even sitting at this
table or that table.
I've watched the videos,
but. These people are trying to
help you guys and they're not being
treated as partners, they're being
treated as your opposition and
we need that to stop.
All right.
I hope that
my history, frankly, that
you are somewhat familiar
with, carries a little
weight.
I have tried, and I
will continue to try, to do
everything I can to collaborate with
Arameek, with Greg, with the
office, with PCOB.
I think it's important.
I believe in community input.
I think communities should have a
say in what justice looks like in
their neighborhood. That includes
the PCOB, that includes
the OIM.
It includes all the
other organizations that she was
talking about.
No, no, I'm not saying it.
No, no, I'm not seeing it.
Are you willing to hear what
she needs to have happen immediately
for that relationship to even begin
and from Greg?
Like, can we give them to the...
I'm always willing to...
I am always willing to meet with
them and talk with them, yes.
So I just want to say that
folks need time to get over
to the vigil, and I just wanna honor
that. We do have families coming
out, so I just wanted to make sure
the community is over there
supporting.
Chief and assistant chief has said
that they will try to come out,
and if you could just take off the
shirt, you know, do whatever you
gotta do.
And because you guys have requested
that and willing to answer
questions.
So I just want to make sure
everybody has enough time and just
wanted to remind the community of
that.
I got one question.
We know that homeless is Willie.
Willie Street is homelessness.
I've dealt with the homeless during
COVID up
until today.
We know that Willie Street, is where
a lot of homeless people reside.
It's just the way it is.
That's where they get most of their
assistance. Willie street is a
special street.
Have your have your police been
trained to deal with
not only homelessness, but
mental health.
Homelessness people, because we know
that, unfortunately, that
they're being harmed at
the hands of the police and
A lot of it has to do with
having no one to
be there or back them up.
But this community, that's all they
have is this community.
So I think that they need to be
trained on really how to deal with
the mental health and the
homelessness because we know that's
what Willie Street is.
That's where they reside.
And better I continue to end
homelessness, especially because
we're having so many people in the
world. It's a new prison extension
that has more cells
than we do have actively homeless
people in Madison, okay?
There wouldn't have been a mental
health crisis if people just had a
fucking home.
I was like briefly homeless in
Colick for like a week and it was
stressful as fuck.
If I were on the street like
permanently, I would be like so
unwell.
It's insane. It's so unwell, it's insane.
It's terrible.
It's true.
And let's talk about the huge police
budget.
Lady said
Chief, your officer in a PCOE meeting said that they would
not ticket homeless people
because of existing on the street.
And yet, on Willie Street, we are
seeing your homeless neighborhood
officers ticketing
homeless people for existing
in state homeless.
I don't know the details of that,
but you know we're committed to
doing a restorative discussion with
the SJC.
I don't know the detail, so I
can't comment on specific
instances.
Your officers
We are we are trying
to
There to my knowledge there was
a call. We would not have responded
if there was not a call DCI
Clyde Clyde
quite quite because
that is a big part of where
I am at right now so
what they need to do
So what they need to do is not only look
at that call that I've referenced,
but look at the other calls where
there was similar description and
see if this is in fact the same
individual.
That's all part of their
investigation and that will all be
hopefully included in
their report.
Chief, you mentioned the other day
at the press conference that as far
as you know, the officer was a
veteran officer.
Could you give a little bit more
details on how long they've been on
the force, whether or not they had a
supervisor role, and also
whether or not there's any
complaint or disciplinary history?
I don't have that information.
He is a veteran officer, multiple
years. I don't know exactly
his tenure.
Not a supervisor is what I can tell
you.
11.
Thank you.
Thank you, correct.
All right.