Watch: Man refusing to wear mask at store stabs elderly customer, attacks police before getting shot

Editor note: The video footage can be seen below and may be disturbing to some readers.

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WINDSOR TOWNSHIP, MI- The footage completely clears police.  Yet of course we’re already getting emails at Law Enforcement Today demanding an investigation into this.  Unreal.

A 43-year old Michigan man stabbed a seventy-seven year old store patron and attacked police before being fatally shot by a deputy.  The man became violent after being refused service at Quality Dairy in Windsor Township, because he refused to wear a mask.

The man, identified as Sean Ernest Ruis, arrived at the Quality Dairy just before 7 a.m.

He entered the establishment without wearing a mask, in defiance of the Governor’s order and store police.  The 77-year old customer asked Ruis to put on a mask and he was refused service by the store.  Ruis became enraged and stabbed the 77-year old customer before running away.

A police alert was issued, which described his car and gave his license plate number.  An Eaton County Sheriff’s Deputy saw the vehicle and pulled Ruis over on a residential area at approximately 7:15 a.m.  Ruis jumped out of his car and walked toward the deputy brandishing a knife.

The man can be seen on video coming toward the officer in a very threatening manner and the officer can be heard yelling “Drop the knife!”, “Drop the weapon.” before firing several times.

Ruis continued to attack even though he had been shot.  Video from both the officer’s body camera, and a neighborhood security camera were released in short order.

This is how fast it happens folks…The officer backs away to gain space & uses verbal commands. The suspect is relentless. This is REALITY!!!

Someone show this to the folks are Berkley who believe civilians should be doing traffic stops and not police officers. pic.twitter.com/HrB5DFaGef

— National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) (@GLFOP) July 15, 2020

“The deputy attempted to increase distance by backing up and subsequently shot and injured the suspect. The suspect was transported to a local hospital and died during surgery.” According to a statement by the Sheriff’s Department.

The statement then goes on to say:

“She backed away from him while repeatedly ordering him to drop the weapon, but he continued to advance and attack and she acted in defense of her life.”

“And just before the deputy opened fire, the man was well within reach,” Eaton County Sheriff Tom Reich said. 

The picture posted on the Eaton County Sheriff’s Official Facebook Page appears to confirm this.

“Our thoughts and prayers are for the full recovery of the victim who was stabbed at the Quality Dairy and for his family, and are with our deputy who was subsequently violently attacked. They are also with the family of Mr. Ruis who was killed in this senseless, tragic incident.”

Reich said that the deputy is now on administrative leave and will be for the duration of the investigation. He also said she was “in fear for her life” at the time of the shooting. Both the stabbing and the shooting are under investigation by the Michigan State Police.

“It’s very unfortunate that she had to use her weapon but she saved her life; that’s the most important thing right here,” Reich said. “She had to use deadly force, and she did it properly and I’m glad she wasn’t harmed in any way.”

MSP Lansing Troopers and Eaton County Sheriff’s Department Deputies respond to Quality Dairy store in Windsor Twp, Eaton County on July 14 at 6:45 AM for a 911 call about a stabbing incident. Preliminary investigation shows that two customers were inside the store and an pic.twitter.com/fSH125iB49

— MSP First District (@MSPFirstDist) July 14, 2020

The elderly man who was stabbed was taken to a hospital in serious condition and is expected to survive, local NBC affiliate WILX reported.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an order last week mandating masks indoors and in some public areas where social distancing is not possible, according to Michigan Live. Businesses are responsible for enforcing the mandate.

Ruis’ death has not been the first killing over wearing a mask in Michigan. In May, a security guard at a Family Dollar Flint was shot and killed after asking a customer to wear a mask.

Also in may, Law Enforcement Today published an article showing a woman assaulting police over refusal to wear a mask:

NEW YORK, NY – A 22-year-old woman was reportedly arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer after she was approached at a Brooklyn subway station for not properly wearing a face mask.

New York police officers arrested a woman for allegedly striking an officer at a Brooklyn subway station this week after she did not wear a face mask as required, authorities say https://t.co/jr5x0ivfOZ

— CNN (@CNN) May 16, 2020

Video of the incident was captured, where the 22-year-old woman was with a young child among a set of stairs on the subway on May 13^th, where the suspect can be seen arguing with several officers.

The woman was obviously irate over being approached by police regarding her not properly wearing her face mask.

The footage captured of the incident doesn’t quite clearly show which officer was assaulted, as when the alleged assault transpired, there was roughly five officers surrounding the woman. What can be clearly seen is when the woman is yelling at officers, saying:

“Do not touch me.”

Thereafter, the officers take down the suspect and apply handcuffs to her. In the background of the video, an unseen bystander can be heard saying:

“C’mon man, she’s got a kid with her.”

After the alleged assault that stemmed from police confronting the woman over the improperly worn face mask, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio conversed with New York Police Commissioner Dermot Shea to better define police intervention regarding social distancing-based violations.

Mayor de Blasio noted that moving forward, police are no longer going to be enacting enforcement regarding failure to wear face coverings for the most part:

“Where we see the greatest danger to lives in terms of the coronavirus and the area where we can enforce is around gatherings particularly large gatherings, so that’s where we are going to focus.”

The NYPD released a statement after the video was posted online, saying that the only reason for the arrest was attributed to the alleged assault against the officers present:

“We are confident that the police officers in this incident acted appropriately and with respect. This individual was arrested only after her behavior toward officers warranted police action.”

NYPD officers arrest woman for allegedly striking officer after she did not wear face mask as required, authorities say https://t.co/3iD1tI07EY

— Noon3 (@Broremo) May 16, 2020

While Mayor de Blasio didn’t exactly criticize the officers’ actions taken in that instance, he’s also realized that caveats that have come with prompting police to enforce the likes of these recent executive orders and mandates:

“Whatever else was going on in that video … we should never have a situation where a mom with her child ends up under arrest for that kind of offense.”

It doesn’t really require a rocket scientist to have seen the looming consequences over Governor Andrew Cuomo’s executive order that was delivered on April 15^th that face masks in public were to be required.

Without condoning the alleged escalation of the events that played out on May 13^th, these are exactly the kinds of police interactions that could have been avoided if officers weren’t put in the middle between of government orders and individual liberties.

As for the suspect, she’s now potentially facing charges of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and harassment. The suspect was issued a notice to appear for a later court date.

Elsewhere in the country, face mask mandates seem to be creating a whole different breed of issues.

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