The Corey Ruiz shooting has entered a new phase with state officials formally identifying the Madison police officer who fired the shots that killed him last month. The Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation named Officer Kiel Baitinger-Peterson as the officer involved in the July 22 encounter.

Ruiz, 38, of Madison, died at a local hospital following the incident. The investigation remains active.

How the Encounter Began

Madison officers responded that afternoon to the Marquette neighborhood after a report of someone checking parked vehicles, described by state investigators as an alleged burglary attempt.

Officers located the individual, later identified as Ruiz. According to investigators, he fled the area on a bicycle.

Around 1:35 p.m., four responding officers made contact with him at the intersection of South Baldwin and Williamson Streets. Police Chief John Patterson said Ruiz either fell from the bicycle or was removed from it by officers.

What Investigators Say Happened Next

A physical struggle followed. Investigators say that during the altercation, Ruiz produced a fixed-blade knife and injured Officer Baitinger-Peterson.

Two other officers attempted to deploy a Taser. Investigators say those attempts were unsuccessful.

Baitinger-Peterson then discharged his firearm, striking Ruiz. A knife was later recovered at the scene.

Emergency medical services were summoned and life-saving efforts were attempted. Ruiz was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Injuries and Aftermath

One additional officer was hurt during the confrontation. Both injured officers received hospital treatment and have since been released.

No other law enforcement personnel or members of the public were injured.

All four responding officers were placed on administrative leave in accordance with department policy, a standard measure following any officer-involved shooting.

Video From the Scene

Footage circulating online appears to depict Ruiz going to the ground during the struggle with officers. What sounds like three gunshots can be heard, fired by Baitinger-Peterson from a standing position.

Video of this kind often becomes central to how the public interprets an incident, though investigators typically caution that recordings capture only portions of a rapidly unfolding event and may not reflect what individual officers perceived in the moment.

The Officer’s Background

Baitinger-Peterson has 10 years and 10 months of law enforcement experience. Public records indicate the city of Madison hired him in February 2017.

An archived version of the Madison Police Department’s community policing teams webpage listed him as of July 9 as part of the team covering the Midtown, South and West Districts.

Within hours of the July 22 shooting, his name and photograph were removed from that page, though other officers remained listed. By August 10, every officer had been removed from the page entirely.

The department has not publicly explained the changes.

Who Is Conducting the Investigation

Wisconsin law directs that officer-involved deaths be investigated by an outside agency rather than the department employing the officer. That requirement is why the Division of Criminal Investigation is leading this case.

DCI is being assisted by:

• A DCI Crime Response Specialist
• The Dane County Sheriff’s Office
• The Wisconsin State Patrol
• The Sun Prairie Police Department

Officials say the involved law enforcement personnel are fully cooperating with the investigation.

What Happens When the Review Ends

DCI continues to examine evidence and establish the facts surrounding the encounter. When that work concludes, investigators will hand their reports to the Dane County District Attorney’s Office.

The district attorney then decides whether the use of force was legally justified or whether criminal charges are warranted. That determination rests on whether the officer reasonably believed deadly force was necessary given the circumstances he faced.

These reviews commonly take months. The waiting period is frequently a source of frustration for families and communities seeking answers.

Community Response

Demonstrators took to Madison’s streets in the days following the shooting, protesting the use of deadly force in the case.

Public reaction to incidents like this often centers on questions the official timeline does not immediately resolve. Among them: whether the initial report warranted the level of pursuit that followed, whether the Taser deployments failed for technical reasons or positioning, and what alternatives existed once the struggle was underway.

Those questions fall within the scope of the ongoing review, and answers will likely arrive only when the investigative file becomes available.

Where Things Stand

For now, the confirmed facts are limited. A call about vehicle tampering brought officers to a neighborhood. A man fled on a bicycle. A struggle occurred at a street intersection. A knife was involved and an officer was injured. Taser attempts failed. Shots were fired. A 38-year-old man died.

The connective tissue between those points, the decisions made in a matter of seconds and how the law evaluates them, is precisely what investigators are working to document.

Until DCI completes its review and the district attorney issues a decision, the case remains open, and the Madison community is left waiting for a fuller account of what happened at South Baldwin and Williamson Streets on a Tuesday afternoon in July.