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NILES -- A woman whose near hysterical 911 call on Dec. 17 stating that her boyfriend, Matthew S. Burroughs, threatened her with a gun did not realize it could trigger events that resulted in his death during a police-involved shooting at the Royal Mall Apartments Wednesday afternoon.
Tara Elkins, 32, on Thursday called Burroughs a "good man" who did the best he could to support her and her son even during times they were having problems.
"He was a good man," Elkins said. "He was even beginning to attend church with me."
Elkins is pregnant with his daughter, who is due in May.
Burroughs, 35, was shot around 2:36 p.m. while he was in his white Ford Fusion as he was driving to apartment 53 in the Royal Mall complex, where he lived.
Police went to Burroughs' apartment after he ran from Niles Municipal Court shortly after 2:30 p.m. and it was reported by a court officer that Burroughs attempted to hit him while driving his Ford Fusion toward Robbins Avenue.
Burroughs, according to court officials, was not scheduled to appear in court Wednesday. However, because he was in the court building, a hearing was scheduled to take place about 2:15 p.m. to address two active warrants that had been filed against him.
"We scheduled a hearing because there was no reason to have warrants when someone is at the court," Niles Clerk of Courts Sherry Rose said.
However, before the hearing could take place, Burroughs left the building. The hearing was canceled, according to court records.
The warrants were on charges of assault and aggravated menacing filed by police on Dec. 18 in connection to a Dec. 17 incident in Burroughs' apartment at which Elkins, frantic and sobbing loudly over the phone, told dispatchers he was displaying a gun while throwing her and her son's items out of his apartment.
"I thought he would shoot me and my son," Elkins said in a police police report of the incident.
Elkins, according to the report, described Burroughs grabbing her shirt, which caused her to fall and then he pushed her out of the apartment.
During the 911 call, Elkins told the dispatcher she felt threatened. She sent her son to a neighbor's house.
However, on Thursday, Elkins described Burroughs as non-violent. While he had a gun, Elkins said he did not carry it outside outside of the apartment.
"He wasn't like that," she said. "What happened in December was a moment in time. It was not the man he was."
She described him as an illustrator who wanted to produce his own comics and clothing line.
The Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation has agreed to do the investigation that will review police actions during the shooting. BCI is not investigating anything outside of the shooting.
The complete investigation could take several months to complete, because investigators must get search warrants to search the vehicle, talk to witnesses and wait until they review toxicology reports, according to Jill DelGreco, a spokeswoman with BCI.
Niles police Chief Jay Holland said the two officers involved have been placed on paid administrative leave while the BCI investigation takes place. Holland said he would not reveal the names of the officers until the investigation is complete.
Placing officers on paid administrative leave is a standard practice while an investigation takes place on police related shootings, Holland said.
Burroughs pleaded guilty to burglary and robbery charges in September 2014 and was sentenced to five years probation on each count.
Also, in 2014, Jennifer Cox requested and received a civil protection order against Burroughs because she said he was stalking her. The protection order initially was supposed to last through April 2019. However, it was dismissed by Trumbull County Common Pleas Court in December.