Minneapolis chief says department 'failed' victim shot by neighbor

Minneapolis PD arresting accused neighbor shooter

Minneapolis police are working Sunday night to arrest the man accused of shooting his neighbor last week.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara says the department failed the man who investigators say was shot by his neighbor while cutting a tree.

Sunday night, after days of inaction, Minneapolis police attempted to take the suspect, John Sawchak, into custody.

The victim, Davis Moturi, is still trying to piece together why his neighbor hadn’t already been arrested for shooting him. Police said they’re trying to make the arrest safely because officers consider Sawchak armed and dangerous.

Neighbor shooting suspect arrested: Latest

An overnight standoff in Minneapolis led to the arrest of a man who police say shot his neighbor five days earlier as part of a dispute about a tree. FOX 9’s Courtney Godfrey has the latest developments.

What are they saying?

Chief O’Hara admits what happened to the victim shouldn’t have happened.

"He tried to kill me. And if it weren’t for a few inches, you know, I would have been dead," said Moturi.

Moturi just got out of the hospital on Sunday. He can’t go home and recover, because Sawchak is still in his home right now.

"Essentially, I’m homeless until the cops decide to go and somehow capture John," said Moturi.

John Sawchak still hasnt been arrested, despite shooting his neighbor days ago and being charged with attempted murder. (FOX 9)

Background

Sawchak has been civilly committed in the past. Court documents show Sawchak has an extreme risk protection order. It shows he threatened to kill a neighbor multiple times, made threats to shoot his sister, and slashed an off-duty police officer's tire.

The threats and acts of violence date back to 2016. Currently, Sawchak faces second-degree attempted murder, assault, and harassment charges after investigators say he shot Moturi.

"In this particular instance, we failed this victim 100%, because that should not have happened to him," said Brian O’Hara, Minneapolis Police Chief.

Sunday, O’Hara apologized for his officers’ response to the situation.

"The Minneapolis Police somehow did not act urgently enough to prevent that individual from being shot," said O’Hara.

Moturi’s wife Caroline has been back to their home two times with a police escort. She tells us a lieutenant asked her to be patient with the police department.

"I said, patience is what has gotten my husband shot. We’ve been patient for over a year," said Caroline Moturi, Davis' wife.

What's next?

Chief O’Hara is letting everyone know, they’re working on arresting Sawchak.

"I'm sure most of the residents there know we have been there 24/7, the last few days, we have been trying to get this person into custody safely," said O'Hara.

O’Hara also said they used their behavioral threat assessment team, a psychiatrist, and talked to Sawchak’s family. He says that hasn’t worked. He mentioned they’re running out of options before they have to escalate them. He believes it will ultimately come to that.