State not providing timeline for end to Niles shooting investigation

Staff report

NILES

Nearly four months after Niles police officers shot and killed Matthew S. Burroughs, 35, as he drove into parking lot of his Royal Mall apartment, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations still has an open investigation into the case.

Steve Irwin, Ohio BCI spokesman, said Thursday he has no update to provide on the case and there is “no set time limit” for when the investigation will be complete.

“It depends on the complexity and factors involved,” adding that sometimes the agency needs to wait for toxicology results, for instance, to be returned to investigators.

When the investigation is complete, it will be turned over to Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins, and he will either make a decision on whether any charges will be filed or present it to a grand jury to decide, Irwin said.

Burroughs, who was not armed, died from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest. Cellphone videos taken that day show that about five Niles officers were surrounding the car just after about five gunshots could be heard.

BCI obtained body-camera videos from the officers, but the videos have not been released to the public.

Chief Jay Holland released a statement about a week after the shooting, saying that Burrroughs “drove toward” his officers, who were waiting in the complex for him when he drove up.

They “perceived a threat to their safety and fired their service weapons,” the chief said. “Officers on scene did state that Burroughs used his vehicle as a weapon towards law enforcement,” Holland said.

Community members, including the president of the Trumbull County Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, have rallied on behalf of Burroughs and demanded a “credible” investigation into his death.