Calls for change to the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) grew louder at Tuesday’s City Council meeting after public comment opened on the Davis Moturi case.
The public comments come after increased scrutiny of the MPD following the shooting of Moturi. Moturi’s neighbor, John Herbert Sawchak, shot Moturi after months of Sawchak harassing Moturi and at least 19 calls to the police about Sawchak’s behavior. The police arrested Sawchak four days after he shot Moturi.
After the shooting, the Minneapolis City Council called for the city auditor to investigate the incident on Saturday.
At the meeting, activist groups like the Communities United Against Police Brutality and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called for an independent investigation into the incident.
“What we’re asking for is very clear. We want a transparent and independent investigation that looks at the entire system,” CAIR Executive Director Jaylani Hussein said. “I want to know what it will take for families in Minneapolis to get service from the police like they get service in uptown and other parts of the city.”
Not everyone at the meeting was satisfied with just an investigation. Brenda Short, a Minneapolis resident, said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara should be fired.
“The chief knew what was happening, and he stood on it,” Short said. “If the tables were turned and the people were Black, the door would have been kicked in.”
Given Sawchak’s long track record of threatening neighbors, Minneapolis resident Anna Newcombe said the MPD should have dealt with him before the shooting.
“Our fear is that he will be released again into our community or another community,” Newcombe said at the meeting.
This fear is shared by Marcia Howard, whose daughter lives near Sawchak and said he has been “terrorizing the neighborhood for years.”
Howard does not blame O’Hara but said the MPD should make some reforms.
“What I want to see is an attempt at systemic change, which means using their power to push the mayor to hold the MPD accountable,” Howard said.
As emotions ran high, the MPD announced it was collaborating with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), crime specialists and other experts to alleviate neighborhood disputes before they lead to violence.
At the meeting, O’Hara said this partnership between the MPD and NAACP will help the MPD better resolve neighbor disputes.
“There are people out there looking for help and we alone cannot help everyone,” O’Hara said. “Every situation is different, but many of them have the potential to escalate.”
NAACP President of the Minneapolis branch Cynthia Wilson said the collaboration is a small step in the police building a better relationship with the community.
“In addition to impacting the community, it will be us helping us,” Wilson said. “It won’t be the be-all and end-all of everything, but it will be a start of moving forward.”
Even with the MPD working with the NAACP, Hussein wants the investigation to come first.
“I think that anything that they’re doing to work with the community cannot in any way undermine or in any way distract from this particular conversation,” Hussein said. “And this conversation has to focus on what happened with Davis Moturi and what happened with those 19 calls and who dropped the ball.”
