by Daniel Johnson

October 29, 2024

Minnesota officials, including Minnesota state Sen. Omar Fateh, blamed police inaction.

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The Minneapolis Police Department apologized for their failure to respond appropriately to repeated complaints by Davis Moturi, 34, of racist harassment from his white neighbor, John Herbert Sawchak.

According to The GuardianMoturi was attacked by Sawchak on October 23, who shot Moturi, leaving him with a fractured spine, two broken ribs and a concussion. A day later, criminal charges were filed against Sawchak, but police waited until October 28 to arrest him.

Brian O’Hara, the department’s police chief, apologized to reporters.

“We failed this victim 100 percent,” O’Hara said. “And to this victim, I say I’m sorry this happened to you.”

Moturi’s shooting follows the conclusion of a Justice Department investigation that alleged Minneapolis police had a “pattern or practice” of discrimination against Black Americans.

Moturi purchased his home in 2023 and since then, he or his wife reportedly called the department at least 19 times to report Sawchak for vandalism, destruction of property, harassment and threats of physical harm while he spouted racial slurs.

After police failed to arrest Sawchak three times, he allegedly shot Moturi in the neck from an upstairs window of his home while Moturi was pruning a tree near his property line with a chainsaw, that Sawchak planted with his mother, according to O’Hara.

Police said they waited five days to arrest Sawchak, saying they wanted to arrest him peacefully because they knew he had weapons and was mentally ill.

Minnesota officials, including Minnesota state Sen. Omar Fateh, blamed police inaction. “Despite three arrest warrants, MPD ignored his calls, highlighting racial inequalities. I demand an independent investigation and accountability,” Fateh wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, posting an image of his official statement regarding the police.

“The shooting of Davis Moturi is a tragic and deeply troubling failure of our public safety system. Mr. Moturi and his family repeatedly sought protection from law enforcement, reporting escalating harassment, racist threats and stalking by a neighbor — only to be bamboozled while their tormentor , John Sawchak, continued to escalate without police intervention despite three active actions. arrest warrants against him,” indicates the official Fateh press release.

Fateh continued: “The Minneapolis Police Department’s refusal to make an arrest under the guise of avoiding violent conflict stands in stark contrast to other cases in which black men were killed by MPD while the suspects involved did not. were not reported as suffering from mental disorders and that alternatives were possible. , in fact, available, as in the Amir Locke shooting which was the result of a no-knock raid on three separate apartments in search of a murderer. It was not considered too dangerous then. What’s so different about this?

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