DETROIT, MI -- Nearly three months after a fatal police shooting in Detroit, detectives and prosecutors are still working to determine if the killing was justified.
A Dearborn police officer in his patrol car followed 35-year-old Kevin Matthews, who relatives say was mentally ill, while he walked north across the Dearborn border into Detroit the afternoon of Dec. 23.
Matthews didn't heed the officer's order to stop. A struggle ensued in the backyard of a home about three houses into the Detroit neighborhood. The officer, who hasn't been identified, shot Matthews multiple times and he later died.
Because the shooting occurred in Detroit, the Detroit Police Department Homicide Unit investigated.
Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor and spokeswoman Maria Miller said the investigation has been submitted for review to determine if the use of force was proper, but will be returned to Detroit police with a request for more information.
Police issued a statement following Matthews death stating he was wanted after escaping police earlier in the day related to a suspected larceny and had an open warrant for a probation violation.
Matthews was unarmed.
A clerk for the Redford Township 17th District Court confirmed Matthews had an outstanding warrant for drunk and disorderly conduct at the time of his death.
Previous charges of felony first-degree home invasion and domestic violence were filed against Matthews in Wayne County in 2008, although they were later dismissed. The reason for the dismissal wasn't immediately available in online court records.
Matthews also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor "alcohol-related violations" in 2000, according to Wayne County 36th District Court records. He has no felony convictions in Michigan, according to online Michigan Department of Corrections records.
Kevin Matthews, 35, of Detroit; and Janet Wilson, 31, of Detroit, were both killed by Dearborn police on Dec. 23, 2015 and Jan. 27, 2013 respectively.
Since Matthews killing, Dearborn police also fatally shot Janet Wilson, 31, of Detroit, who is accused of trying to hit security guards and police with her vehicle when they tried to stop her following a disturbance she's accused of causing at Fairlane Town Center Mall.
Wilson was shot multiple times by police Jan. 27. She was unarmed.
While state police are investigating the Wilson shooting, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office hadn't received the investigation for review as of Thursday.
State Police Lt. Michael Shaw confirmed dash-cam footage is being reviewed in the Wilson case. Neither Detroit nor Dearborn police would reveal if there was audio or video evidence available in the Matthews shooting.
"We just can't keep shooting down unarmed citizens," Les Little, 62, of Detroit said at a protest following Matthews's death. "I know the police have a tough job, but that's what they signed up for ... There's a whole line of law enforcement agents who have tough jobs, but they manage to get the job done without shooting unarmed citizens."
Relatives of Wilson gathered outside the Dearborn Police Department following her death, which they called an unnecessary "murder."