Civil Rights Leader Rev. Al Sharpton to deliver the eulogy for Corey Ruiz, and Attorney Ben Crump to deliver the Call to Justice.
Madison, WI (August 11, 2026) — The family of Corey Ruiz, together with nationally renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network (NAN), announce funeral services for Corey Durell Ruiz, the 38-year-old father who was shot and killed by a Madison Police Department officer on July 22, 2026. Family, friends, and community members will gather to celebrate Corey's life and honor his memory. Rev. Sharpton will deliver the eulogy, and Attorney Crump will deliver the Call to Justice.
Corey Durell Ruiz, 38, was a father and a member of the Madison community who was experiencing homelessness at the time of his death. On Wednesday, July 22, 2026, shortly before 1:00 p.m., Madison Police Department officers attempted to arrest Ruiz at the intersection of Williamson Street and South Baldwin Street in the city's Marquette neighborhood. According to the Madison Police Department, Ruiz was shot during a struggle with four officers. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Cellphone footage recorded by witnesses circulated widely in the hours that followed, and hundreds of residents gathered at the scene that evening before marching to the Wisconsin State Capitol. The Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation into the shooting. Madison remains one of the few major Wisconsin cities whose police officers do not wear body cameras, and no body-camera footage of the shooting exists.
Corey's death occurred just blocks from where a Madison police officer fatally shot Tony Robinson, an unarmed 19-year-old, in 2015, a case that ended without charges, and near the site where officers fatally shot Paul Heenan in 2012. For many in Madison, this shooting has reopened wounds that never fully healed; community members are calling for a thorough, transparent, and independent investigation.
The family has retained nationally renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump, whose team is conducting an independent review and pressing for the release of all records, witness accounts, and investigative findings. The National Action Network stands with the Ruiz family as part of its longstanding mission to ensure that the deaths of Black men at the hands of law enforcement receive rigorous, transparent investigation, and that grieving families never have to stand alone in their search for the truth.
National Action Network is one of the leading civil rights organizations in the Nation with chapters throughout the entire United States. Founded in 1991 by Reverend Al Sharpton, NAN works within the spirit and tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to promote a modern civil rights agenda that includes the fight for one standard of justice, decency, and equal opportunities for all people regardless of race, religion, nationality, or gender. For more information, visit www.nationalactionnetwork.net.
Through his work, nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump has spearheaded a legal movement to better protect the rights of marginalized citizens. He has led landscape-changing civil rights cases and represented clients in a wide range of areas including civil rights, personal injury, labor and employment, class actions, and more. Ben Crump Law is dedicated to holding the powerful accountable. For more information, visit www.bencrump.com.