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MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The shooting death of a man at the hands of Madison police officer has become the newest flashpoint in the race to be Wisconsin's next governor.

Demonstrations have continued in the capital city more than 24 hours after widely circulating bystander videos showed a Madison police officer shooting a resisting suspect three times from very close range after another officer attempted to tase him.

Friends have since identified the deceased as Corey Ruiz. Madison police officials have said Ruiz was armed with a fixed blade knife and cut the officer who later shot him.

Bystander videos do not have a clear angle of what Ruiz was doing with his hands as he wrestled with officer in the moments before the shooting. Madison's common council has repeatedly denied requests by the police department to equip officers with body-worn cameras.

Varying views on whether the shooting was legally justified are reflected in the governor's race. In the Democratic primary, the frontrunner less than three weeks from election day is State Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison), who represents Madison's east side, where the shooting happened.

Hong has offered the harshest criticism of the shooting among the candidates, and she echoed her statement when addressing demonstrators at a vigil near the shooting scene Wednesday night.

 The bystander video is heartbreaking,  Hong said.  This was an execution, and it never should have happened...We cannot allow officials to hide behind procedure, delay the truth, or treat this killing as routine. 

The presumptive Republican nominee, Congressman Tom Tiffany, highlighted a video of Hong speaking at Wednesday's vigil. A spokeswoman told CBS 58 Tiffany has seen bystander videos of the shootings.

 Any loss of life is tragic, and my prayers are with everyone involved,  Tiffany said. When I served in the state Legislature, we established the nation's first statewide law requiring transparent, independent investigations of police-involved deaths. 

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