MADISON, Wis. — Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway is calling for the encampment at Williamson and Baldwin streets to be dismantled, just one day after speaking to News 3 Now on how the city’s response could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The encampment was established late last week after the police shooting death of Corey Ruiz. Police allege Ruiz was “checking parked vehicles” on July 22 before encountering law enforcement. They said he used a knife and injured an officer before police shot him.
The City of Madison has provided resources to help keep the protest area safe, including salt trucks parked in front of makeshift barricades. Rhodes-Conway told News 3 Now in an exclusive interview that the trucks were intended to prevent vehicles from crashing through the barricades and injuring people.
“Normally when we would have a protest, or something like this, we would have [police] squad cars down to make sure people were staying safe,” Rhodes-Conway said. “Given the sensitivity of this moment, we’ve chosen to use other city staff and vehicles to do that.”
The city is also racking up a massive bill, mostly on overtime and staffing costs, that could have impacts further down the line.
The encampment at the site where a Madison police officer shot and killed a man could cost the city “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway told News 3 Now on Friday.
“I would expect just roughly that we are talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Rhodes-Conway said.
She did not provide an exact figure Friday, saying the total would depend on how long the encampment remains in place.
Rhodes-Conway has said the encampment is neither sustainable nor safe and is negatively impacting the Marquette neighborhood.
In a statement Saturday evening, Rhodes-Conway said the following:
“The barricades must come down; people need to be able to access their homes and jobs so they don’t lose them; and businesses need to be able to open.
The barricades need to be deconstructed. The vehicles obstructing the right-of-way need to be moved. The vigil site and other memorial items need to be preserved and/or situated in a manner that allows for a newly thought-out traffic pattern. The tents need to come down.”
At a press conference after the shooting, Rhodes-Conway said she would propose funding for police body cameras in the city’s 2027 budget.
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