Jeanette Tiggs says her son was on the way to a productive life during his probation for punching a police officer in 2003. She says the structure helped Timothy Halton stay out of trouble and on his medication. But, Tiggs says, the state shortened his probation from four years to just one year, leaving him to fend for himself.
Jeanette Tiggs: You have to realize you're dealing with someone with a weak mind. Someone who wanted help.
Tiggs made the comments this morning on 90.3's The Sound of Ideas [Listen to the program]. She wishes the state would have allowed her to be his guardian after age 18.
Jeanette Tiggs: This is my son. He was known to be violent; he was known to be ill. Why would they not let me oversee him? I'm his mother!
Tiggs says she tried her best to prevent Halton from committing a crime like this. Halton is now charged with aggravated murder in the death of Jason West. West is the first Cleveland Heights police officer to die in the line of duty since the 1940s. Dan Bobkoff, 90.3.