The Madison police chief, John Patterson, lost control of a shambolic press conference on July 23, as a protester grabbed his microphone from his hands while ranting about colonialism, imperialism, and Zionism – and the chief just stood there and let him do it.
Meanwhile, a woman held a sign threatening cops, and possibly the chief himself, aloft at the press conference – with no apparent pushback.
It all went down on the day after a Madison police officer shot and killed a knife-wielding man who, the chief said, injured him with the knife first during a struggle. The officer had a right to use lethal force if he reasonably believed his life was in danger, or that of another.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Protesters burst in and take over news conference as Madison police identify man killed by officer a day earlier. pic.twitter.com/viv4nyKvcz
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 23, 2026
An aggressive protest mob stormed the Madison police chief’s press conference today.
“You won’t be able to talk today,” the protester ranted. “We have the power. Not that badge.”
“We’ve seen there was a knife in this young man’s hand,” the man ranted, apparently mimicking what police would say. “We don’t want to hear that today.”
And there it is. They don’t care about the facts. How dare the police chief release them!
A woman held a sign that said “corrupt cops deserve to die too,” and that used the F word. It also threatened to kill a specific person, possibly the chief. The name was slightly off but close to Patterson’s name.
Where was the security for the chief? Did the mayor have DPW workers doing that too? We received a tip that the city was using DPW as security at protests to avoid agitating people who would become upset if they saw people.
“The group of roughly 20 protesters burst into the room at the Madison police station, shortly after Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and Common Council President Sabrina Madison identified the man killed by police as Corey Ruiz, a homeless resident.”
— Shane B. Murphy (@shanermurph) July 24, 2026
In other news today:
Democrat frontrunner for governor, Fran Hong, after inciting the crowd with reckless statements prejudging the cop, demanding “zero police killings,” apparently even if someone shoots at a cop.
Who is Madison Police Chief John Patterson?
- Started with the MPD in 1998
- Became Acting Chief in early 2025
- “Permanent position of Chief was offered by the Police and Fire Commission in the fall of 2025.”
- “Previously oversaw MPD’s annual operating and capital budgets, oversight of police training and hiring and community outreach efforts as an Assistant Chief.”
