The city of Madison has a unique office responsible for independent investigations of the local police department. It’s called the Office of the Independent Police Monitor. The office is investigating last week’s police shooting of 38-year-old Corey Ruiz.
Ruiz was shot after he pulled a knife as officers tried to detain him, according to the police chief. The state DOJ’s Division of Criminal Investigation, or DCI, is investigating the shooting. The officers involved are on leave.
The police killings of 19-year-old Tony Robinson in Madison in 2015 and George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 were catalysts for the creation of the Madison Police Civilian Oversight Board, and subsequently the Office of the Independent Police Monitor.
They review and make recommendations regarding police discipline, use of force, and other policies.
The board appointed Aeiramique Glass as independent police monitor in November 2025.
WUWM's Teran Powell asked Glass about her investigation process.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Teran Powell: Since Corey Ruiz was killed, how are things going?
Aeiramique Glass: How it's going currently is that I requested a significant amount of information from the chief. I was briefed about an hour after Mr. Corey was killed, and I had arrived on the scene about 45 minutes after he was killed. I did my initial assessment of the scene. I could not get to the scene because MPD has authority of the scene. I'm supposed to have access, but chief never arrived on the scene and I didn't want it to become a battle. I also went to surrounding business owners and took statements. I issued evidence that I found out about and I had my staff go get that evidence.
So, there's a lot happening that we did collect, but there's a lot more that I need from MPD and I will be issuing our first subpoena.
What have been the challenges, if any, to you accessing the information that you need for your investigation?
I was told that they are following state law and that's why they could not provide me with information. Before that, I was told that they did not have anything to provide to me because DCI is doing this full investigation. I think one of the important things, if I say nothing else, is that DCI does not render recommendations. They do not render determinations. They do not make any commentary, opinions, expertise. All they do is collect the information. They facilitate officer interviews. They document all of the evidence. They document everything of the scene. They do an investigation that renders no type of findings.
I think that it is safe to say when...the city is not understanding why people are so adamant about this office and myself getting what we need to be able to do the independent investigation, which we have the authority under the city municipal ordinance to do, I am the only independent office in the state of Wisconsin.
So, beyond the city, I'm the only entity that the community and the public actually trust to get all of the information and to be able to analyze it in a way that is fair, but also provides all perspectives and what actually happened. So, I need the information. I need to be able to do my job.
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