The City Backs Down — Vote to Weaken PCO Board Canceled, But the Fight for Real Power Continues

One week after Madison police officer Kile Peterson shot and killed Corey Durell Ruiz in the street, the city has backed down. The amendments designed to weaken the Police Civilian Oversight Board — strip its independence, cut its funding, remove its authority to investigate — have been withdrawn. The August 4 vote that was supposed to deliver the final blow to oversight has been canceled. This is a victory. It is not the victory. 

What Happened 

On Sunday, July 26 — four days after the killing, as protests filled the streets for the fifth consecutive night and the encampment at Williamson and Baldwin continued to grow — Common Council President Sabrina Madison met with PCO Board Chair Maia Pearson. 

On Monday, July 27, Madison issued a statement: she, Alder Yannette Figueroa Cole, Alder Derek Field, and Alder Will Ochowicz were withdrawing their names from the amendments. Vice President Carmella Glenn withdrew her alternate proposal. Alder Julia Matthews followed. The amendments that would have gutted the PCO Board are dead. The August 4 vote is off. 

Let us be clear about why this happened. The Common Council did not have a sudden change of heart about the importance of civilian oversight. They did not, after years of attempting to weaken the board, suddenly discover the value of independent investigation. They backed down because the community made it politically impossible not to. The protests. The encampment. The family speaking out. Ben Crump calling it an execution. Hundreds of messages flooding Alder Mayer's inbox. International media coverage. A community that refused — for seven straight days — to let the city return to business as usual. That is what forced the withdrawal. Not a change of heart. A change in the balance of power. 

What Sabrina Madison Said 

In her statement, Alder Sabrina Madison framed the withdrawal as a pivot toward collaboration: "At a moment when our community is grieving and looking to its leaders to strengthen trust in our systems of accountability, I believe it is important that we create space for collaboration rather than legislation." She proposed a "restorative justice process" — engaging mediators recommended by the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement to facilitate conversations between the Council and the Board. Chair Pearson agreed to come to the table. 

This is a major reversal for one of the biggest proponent of gutting the PCO Board powers. Even as others abandoned ship due to the massive turnout at the April Common Council meeting, Madison stood firm, refusing the listen to reason, community organizations or the community itself. But she did not change her position because she was suddenly enlightened or empathetic towards people victimized by the police, she changed her position due to mass protests that made her irrelevant to discussions about how to move forward. The last hold out in support of the police, a Black woman, was forced to change her position or remain totally isolated.

The Board, for its part, identified three priorities: a public comment agenda item specifically for the Office of the Independent Monitor, an end to the amendment process, and a collaborative path toward strengthening oversight — not weakening it. These are reasonable requests. They are also the bare minimum. A public comment slot is not funding. A collaborative process is not binding authority. Ending the attack on the board is not the same as empowering it. 

Meanwhile, MPD Is Obstructing the Investigation 

While the Council debates process, the Madison Police Department is actively blocking the investigation into Corey Ruiz's killing. Interim Independent Police Monitor Aeiramique Glass told WPR's "Wisconsin Today" on July 29 that she still has not received basic information from MPD — the names of the officers involved, the incident reports, the dashcam video. She issued a subpoena — the first of her eight-month tenure — after MPD told her to obtain the materials through other channels. 

The department that killed Corey Ruiz is the same department refusing to cooperate with the independent investigation into his death. "If we don't have change, and real change, this community is going to react," said Alder Carmella Glenn at the PCO Board's July 28 press conference. "And that reaction will be on all of the government's hands." 

The PCO Board Demands Funding 

At that same press conference, held at the Social Justice Center on Monday, the PCO Board made its position clear: it cannot function without funding. Board members called for a minimum of 1% of the Madison Police Department budget — with some pushing for 5%, the same demand Freedom Inc. has advanced for years. Community organizations spoke in support. The message was unified: you cannot have oversight without resources, and you cannot have accountability without oversight. The demand for 1% to 5% of the police budget is not radical. It is the cost of doing the job the city claims the board exists to do. MPD's budget grows every year. The oversight board that is supposed to hold them accountable operates on a fraction of a fraction of that. 

What This Means 

The immediate crisis has been averted. The August 4 vote will not happen. The amendments that would have gutted the PCO Board have been withdrawn. But here is what has not changed: 

• The PCO Board is still underfunded. It cannot investigate effectively without resources. 
• MPD is still obstructing. They are refusing to cooperate with the independent investigation into Corey Ruiz's killing. 
• The city still has no body cameras. Madison remains the only large Wisconsin city without them. 
• Community control is still the demand. A stronger oversight board is a step. It is not the destination. 
• The encampment at Williamson and Baldwin remains. The protests continue. 
• The family still demands justice. 
• The movement that forced the city to back down is the same movement that will force it to deliver more than a canceled vote and a promise to collaborate. 

FAN's Position

Freedom Action NOW joins Freedom Inc. in recognizing this as a defensive victory — won by the community in the streets, not by the Council in its chambers. The immediate threat has been neutralized. The long-term fight continues. 

The demands do not change: Justice for Corey Ruiz. Jail killer cops. Community control over police — including stable funding for the PCO Board at a minimum of 5% of the MPD budget, independent investigative authority, and the power to hold officers accountable. 

The city backed down because the community refused to back down. That is how power works. Keep the pressure on.