Minneapolis police have apologized for failing to address a local Black man’s complaints of repeated, racist harassment from his white neighbor until after the neighbor shot the victim in the victim’s own yard.
The attack on 34-year-old Davis Moturi this past Wednesday as he performed yard work left him with a fractured spine, two broken ribs and a concussion. Authorities by Thursday had obtained criminal charges against John Herbert Sawchak, who is accused of shooting from an upstairs window in his home to wound Moturi – but they waited until early Monday to arrest him.
“We failed this victim 100%,” Brian O’Hara, Minneapolis police chief, told reporters. “And to that victim, I say I am sorry that this happened to you.”
Moturi’s shooting comes after a US justice department investigation last year concluded that the Minneapolis police department had a “pattern or practice” of discrimination against Black Americans, among other findings.
That investigation stemmed from the 2020 murder of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of a white officer in plain view of a recording cellphone, a killing that set off racial justice protests worldwide.
Since Moturi purchased his home in 2023, he and his wife contacted authorities at least 19 times to report Sawchak for vandalism, property destruction, harassment and threats of physical harm while hurling racist slurs, court records state.
Police obtained at least three warrants to arrest Sawchak in connection with threats or violent acts against Moturi and other neighbors. But none resulted in his capture, with police claiming Sawchak “actively evaded [them] during prior attempts to contact or arrest him”.
Finally, from an upstairs window in his home, Sawchak shot Moturi in the neck while the victim pruned a tree that was near the property line with a chainsaw in his own yard. Sawchak had apparently planted the tree with his mother, O’Hara said.
A day later, the Hennepin county attorney’s office charged Sawchak with attempted murder, first-degree assault, felony harassment and stalking – with prosecutors explicitly accusing him of racism.
But it wasn’t until 1.30am on Monday that police took Sawchak into custody.
Faced with a chorus of criticism over their slow response, police maintained that they had actually been keeping a close watch on Sawchak’s house for several days, waiting for him to come outside so they could peacefully arrest him. They said he was mentally ill and was known to have guns.
O’Hara said Sawchak’s mental illness and possession of firearms combined with understaffing in his agency complicated the arrest. They also claimed that Sawchak frustrated efforts to capture him sooner by being a “recluse” who did not leave his house.
Ultimately, after a tactical team surrounded his home for several hours, he emerged from his home and surrendered.
Some local elected officials were apoplectic at the Minneapolis police’s approach to Sawchak.
The city council reportedly sent the police department and the mayor a letter condemning officers for not arresting Sawchak sooner. And several councilmembers expressed the same sentiment on social media.
Omar Fateh, Minnesota state senator, released a statement saying that the police’s “refusal to make an arrest on the basis of avoiding a violent conflict” stood in “stark contrast to other instances in which Black men have been killed” despite alternatives being available.
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“We must hold law enforcement accountable and ensure our public safety policies prioritize community wellbeing over convenience,” Fateh said. “Minneapolis residents deserve better.”
O’Hara apologized to Moturi for his agency’s failure to prevent him from being shot.
“That should not have happened,” O’Hara said. “The Minneapolis police somehow did not act urgently enough.”
But O’Hara has also sought to excuse his department’s performance, saying his officers “are scared of being prosecuted if they get into a situation where they make a mistake trying to do their job and protect the public”.
“Anyone who suggests that the cops don’t want to arrest this person is simply wrong,” O’Hara said on Friday.
On Monday morning, shortly after Sawchak’s arrest, Jacob Frey, the Minneapolis mayor, gave O’Hara and his police department a vote of confidence, saying he was “grateful” for their work.
“What we had tonight was an extraordinarily dangerous situation,” Frey said. “Our officers did this the right way.”
According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, Moturi was released on Sunday from the hospital that treated him for his injuries. Records show Sawchak is scheduled to appear in court on 8 November.