The alleged victim of a shooting and ongoing racist harassment from a neighbor is expressing outrage after the Police Chief suggested the violence was provoked.
John Herbert Sawchak, 54, was arrested at 1:30 a.m. Monday after an hours-long stand-off with Minneapolis Police and SWAT team, KSTP reports.
Sawchak faces charges of attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault after allegedly shooting his neighbor Davis Moturi on October 18.
The shooting followed a year of reported harassment from Sawchak, who court documents allege threatened Moturi multiple times, often using racial slurs and even brandishing a knife and pointing a gun at him in prior incidents. Moturi, who installed security cameras to document the threats, said the harassment intensified after Sawchak warned him, "Touch my tree again and I'll kill you."
Following the shooting, Chief O'Hara held a press conference where he attributed the incident in part on "actions that were precipitated by the victim." Moturi, recovering from a bullet lodged near his spine, called O'Hara's remarks "disrespectful and so rude," in an interview with KSTP, adding, "I feel like I'm being treated this way because of the color of my skin."
O'Hara has since apologized to Moturi, admitting that Minneapolis police "failed" to protect him. "In this instance, we failed this victim. 100%. The Minneapolis police somehow did not act urgently enough," O'Hara said. The police chief also commended his officers after Sawchak's eventual arrest on Monday, highlighting the role of "de-escalation" in bringing him into custody peacefully.
Council Member Andrea Jenkins and other city leaders voiced concerns about the police's handling of the case in a letter obtained by KSTP, calling for accountability and urging more action to address systemic failures in the city's response to racialized violence.
Mayor Jacob Frey responded to city council members concerns on Monday morning by defending police. "We don't need to see this constant politicization of the work," he said.
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