There was one witness to the shooting of Matthew Burroughs. The shooting happened in an apartment complex after Burroughs allegedly eluded police. None of the police were charged as a result of the shooting, mostly because the officers said that Burroughs was attempting to use his vehicle as a weapon and they feared for their lives. The local prosecutor, Dennis Watkins said the officers were justified in using force against Burroughs because Burroughs was driving his car at them.
The witness who could corroborate the allegations worked at the complex where Burroughs lived, and he avoided attention from the press out of fear for his job.
There was a lot of pressure on him because he was the only non-police witness, and if his story diverged from the police. It would be four cops against one resident.
It’s been five years since Burroughs’ death, and he feels haunted by Burroughs. It makes him wonder if he should have spoken up more at the time. He said that the grand jury was so soon after it happened, “I didn’t express my opinion. It wasn’t until 2 years later I started telling everyone I could.”
“I could not believe it didn’t go national news.” I wrote about the shooting and the ensuing investigation at the time, and I tried to interest major national outlets. The prosecutor’s office held back the video at the time, which helped keep it under the national radar.
The police said Burroughs’s foot was on the gas after they shot him, but he knew better. “Matt had his foot on the break and not the gas, accelerating towards the officer like he said.”
He went on, “In my opinion, I whole-heartedly believe the officer who shot thought Matt was reaching for a gun when he was putting the car in drive from reverse.”
“Niles paid Burroughs family a settlement. I feel like they only do that when they know they are wrong.”
He knew the circumstances of Burroughs’ last moments in detail, and he understood the position of the police. “He did not deserve to die,” he said. That was not the position of the prosecutor on the case, Chris Becker, who chose not to bring charges.
Meanwhile, on Twitter, this same prosecutor ridiculed victims of police brutality and denounced other defendants as whackos, turkeys, fools, clowns, jokers, unwashed and dirty creatures, and terrible people, even tweeting pictures of them and commenting on their poor fashion choices, as they sit in belly cuffs and orange scrubs, hoping for a fair trial.
Although the witness ducked the media and did not diverge in his narrative from the official story, he still feels as though he’s experiencing retaliation from public authorities in Niles and Trumbull County.
It’s a familiar story for people in the area. They face obstacles that have no other origin than bias, no other justification than to cause harm. Jammed up because the legal system doesn’t work like it should.
He is one of many in Trumbull who live in the shadow of a legal system gone rogue, which persecutes the innocent and makes deals with the guilty.
The best solution is to vote out the incumbents who lack character and integrity in every election. In the race for the seat on the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas, this means voting for Sarah Kovoor over Chris Becker.
Bring new people who will question how things are done and rattle the calcified structure of the status quo.
