State Representative Shelia Stubbs said this morning that she will champion legislation to require body-worn cameras for all police in Wisconsin.
At a press conference at the Center for Black Excellence and Culture Thursday morning, Stubbs, who represents Madison’s South Side in the State Assembly, said the City of Madison has “failed” by not implementing body-worn cameras, and by not even applying for state funding to implement them.
But, she said, any legislation to increase or require implementation would be guided by the wishes of the family of Corey Ruiz, the man killed by Madison police on July 22.
“Any legislation that we put forth for Corey’s legacy will be done with the blessings of his family and their advocates,” Stubbs said.
“It is unacceptable that in 2026, Madison Police Department still does not have body cameras for all of its officers. That’s the bottom line,” she said. “You can’t just tell me your priorities. You need to demonstrate your priorities with action and with investment.”
Stubbs appeared alongside Ruiz’s mother and sister, their attorneys Ben Crump and B’Ivory Lamarr, and Madison Independent Police Monitor Aeiramique Glass.
All said that implementation of body-worn cameras must be accompanied by strong policy that will actually enable transparency and accountability.
“Transparency plus accountability equals trust, and that is what was put on full display in the aftermath of the killing of Corey Ruiz was the apparent lack of trust between the community and the police,” Crump said.
Policies that allow for accountability exist elsewhere, Crump said.
“This is not a situation where we have to go and reinvent the wheel,” Lamarr said, noting that the City of Milwaukee police department policy requires body-worn camera video from critical incidents be shared with the victim’s family within 48 hours and released publicly within 15 days.
Citing state law, City of Madison Attorney Michael Haas has said no evidence from critical incidents can be released to anyone, including Glass’s office, until after the state Division of Criminal Justice has completed its investigation of the incident.
“I want body-worn cameras as much as anyone else,” Glass said. “It will make my job a lot easier because right now I have to listen to the lies that come across my desk every single day because it’s not in a video.”
She noted that Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway’s executive budget proposal for 2027 includes funding to implement body-worn cameras, but that the policy discussion hasn’t happened yet.
“The budget for body worn cameras is in the mayor’s upcoming budget. … They’re trying to put it under the radar so that the policy is not there,” she said.
Stubbs said she won’t formally introduce legislation until the new Assembly term convenes in January. She said she intends to work with a bipartisan group of legislators to implement body-worn cameras statewide.
“It is unacceptable in 2026 [that] our community continues to be traumatized and retraumatized by the city’s failure to take meaningful action,” she said.
