‘We failed this victim’: MPD Chief apologizes to man allegedly shot by neighbor
UPDATE:
MPD announced that Sawchak was peacefully arrested overnight Monday.
On Sunday, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara apologized to a man who was shot by his neighbor after a year of harassment and intimidation.
The victim, Davis Moturi, believes that his neighbor shot him, and he says he went to the police several times in the past year over the threats.
At the time of this publishing, that neighbor, John Herbert Sawchak, 54, has a warrant out for his arrest. Sawchak faces charges of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, stalking and harassment committed because of bias.
RELATED: Man accused of shooting neighbor in Minneapolis had history of threats, harassment
On Sunday night, a 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS photographer captured Minneapolis police officers serving a warrant at Sawchak’s home. As of 10:20 p.m., officers were speaking through an intercom, asking for Sawchak to exit the home before law enforcement escalated the situation.
During a press conference on Sunday, Chief O’Hara said the police failed Moturi.
“Yes. In this instance, we failed this victim. 100%. Because that should not have happened to him. The Minneapolis police somehow did not act urgently enough to prevent that individual from being shot. And to that victim, I say I am sorry,” O’Hara said.
The apology from O’Hara comes after several Minneapolis City Council members have called on Mayor Frey and MPD to move in and arrest Sawchak.
In response to O’Hara’s apology, Moturi told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS on Sunday night, “He didn’t apologize for much of anything. He said MPD failed me and I say you failed me. I have reached out to you for help. Your officers failed me. I reached out for help at multiple points and when I reached out to you for help, you were silent.”
Moturi says he was released from the hospital on Sunday night, but says he is afraid to go home while Sawchak is still next door.
Moturi told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS on Friday that he installed a security camera at his home to capture evidence of the escalating threats. Video of the incident on Wednesday evening shows him pruning a tree near the property line with Sawchak’s apartment building before a “pop” is heard. The victim then collapses backward to the ground.
“I was like, ‘I need to get help.’ Part of my brain shut off,” Davis Moturi previously told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS from his hospital bed.