The estate of a man shot to death by Niles Police officers has settled a federal civil rights suit against one of those officers.

U.S. District Court Judge Sara Lioi dismissed the case filed by the estate of Matthew Burroughs, who was fatally shot in the parking lot outside his Royal Mall apartment in January 2019.

Police shot Burroughs after fleeing from a probation officer who tried to stop him outside the municipal court.   Burroughs had appeared to pay for a traffic ticket.  Investigators say there was a warrant for his arrest.

The civil rights lawsuit filed a year after the shooting, alleged excessive force, wrongful death, assault and battery, reckless conduct, as well as reckless hiring, training, supervision, discipline, staffing, and retention on the part of the police department.

Officer Christopher Mannella was the sole defendant remaining in the case. The City of Niles, Police Chief Jay Holland, and officers James Reppy, and Paul Hogan were removed from the case earlier.

Following an investigation conducted by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins turned over the 1,600-page finding to the U.S. Justice Department for Review.

Prosecutor Watkins said the Trumbull County Grand Jury chose not to hand up an indictment following the investigation because they felt Burroughs' actions threatened the safety of Officer Mannella.

The complaint alleged that when Officer Reppy stopped his car behind Burroughs’ car, he jumped out and fired five shots at Burroughs, who was still in his car.

The suit claimed Reppy did not identify himself as a police officer or give any warning before he shot, and that officer Mannella shot Burroughs three times.

The complaint says body camera video shows that Burroughs’ brake lights were on at the time he was shot but points out that neither officer Reppy nor Mannella turned on their body cameras before the shooting.

Details of the settlement have not yet been released.  Judge Lioi has given both sides until April 5 to file the settlement with the court.