Last week, the Minneapolis Audit Committee released a report that found low staffing, response issues and a lack of communication impacted Moturi’s and Lussiter’s cases. The after-action review of the cases of Davis Moturi’s and Allison Lussier’s deaths shows big gaps in how the Minneapolis Police Department communicates and functions.

​Moturi, 34, made multiple phone calls about and sent multiple emails about his neighbor, John Herbert Sawchak, 54, for violating a restraining order and pointing a gun at him over the course of a year, reported the Minnesota Daily.

​On October 23, 2024, Moturi was shot by Sawchak in the neck, fracturing his spine. The next day, Sawchak was charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, stalking and harassment.

​The report from the Audit Committee stated MPD visited the location over 20 times, but most visits were undocumented. The report found police did not review the case until about half a year after Moturi’s first call, and many of the escalating incidents between the two neighbors were not assigned to an investigator or moved up to leadership.  

​Michelle Gross, the president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, said the police should have done more to enforce the law after the calls from Moturi, even with fewer available staff.

​“They came on multiple occasions, but didn’t arrest Sawcheck, the perpetrator. So I don’t know how many more hours you need if you’re in order to actually do your damn job,” Gross said.

​Police said they are working with organizations such as the NAACP and other community organizations to improve response times and investigations.

​In addition to the lack of action on Moturi’s case, months before in February 2024, Allison Lussier, a 47-year-old indigenous woman, was found dead near her apartment in North Loop, reported Fox 9 News. The medical examiner’s initial report said her death was due to a possible drug overdose, reported MPR. 

Lussier’s family believes she died due to domestic violence, but the case remains unsolved.

​In the report, it stated MPD showed an inconsistent understanding of important legal tools for victims, like the 72-hour rule and the difference between harassment restraining orders and orders of protection.

​Along with misunderstandings, the audit committee found that communications between the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and the police broke down in Lussier’s case.  

Family members said that while Lussier dealt with substance abuse, the police investigators did not factor in multiple domestic violence reports from Lussier before, MPR reported.

​Domestic violence cases are difficult to investigate, said Amirthini Keefe, the executive director of the Domestic Abuse Project.  

“So there’s a high number of cases, and a low number of individuals that have the skill, the linking and expertise to actually investigate the case in a timely fashion,” Keefe said.

​According to the report, police arrested Lussier’s boyfriend 30 minutes after the 72-hour rule. According to CBS News, no criminal charges have been filed. 

​Keefe said the 72-hour rule is a window for when police can arrest people suspected of domestic abuse without a warrant from a judicial officer. Keefe added that the time frame is important because suspects can often leave the scene and put the victim in danger.

​“It’s over 72 hours, but the officer has evidence that this thing happened, so we want them to go out and get that warrant, so that they can actually pick up and hang on to that individual, which can prevent so many other crimes from happening,” Keefe said. “It can really impact victim safety, community safety, all the things and we saw that very clearly.”

​After the report, the City Council heavily criticized the police’s actions. City Council member Jason Chavez (Ward 9) said the police department did not factor in its bias against Native American women and asked Police Chief Brian O’Hara to apologize to the family.

“The findings of the after-action review represent a devastating pattern of what happens to missing and murdered indigenous relatives. Allison’s family has waited for answers and accountability for too long,” Chavez said.

Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights activist and lawyer, advocated for the audit review of the Moturi case. She said the process is important to show systematic issues.

“I think that the auditing process in this instance is an important mechanism for accountability because a lot of times things happen in the city and everyone just moves on as if it didn’t happen or as the news cycle shifts,” Armstrong said. “But sometimes these audits can reveal fundamental concerns and issues and glaring errors that need to be addressed in order to protect the lives of other people within the city.”

On Wednesday, O’Hara gave a presentation on the possible solutions at the Committee of the Whole meeting. He said the two cases happened during spring 2024, when MPD had an overload of cases.

“The members of the department did care and did make attempts to fix the situation, but it is also clear that what we did was just not enough,” O’Hara said. “This department under my leadership failed Mr. Moturi.”

According to the presentation, O’Hara said they are taking the next steps to change, including training on warrants, creating new units and more reports on response times.

Levy Armstrong said that while targeted solutions are good, the MPD has a culture and leadership issue.

“The people who created the problems aren’t the ones who are going to be in a position to solve them. So I think that they need training from a professional third-party organization that has the credentials and experience to help train them and to bring about a cultural shift,” Levy Armstrong said.

Both Gross and Keefe said the audit reports are important to validate how the community felt and for the police to improve in the future. 

Keefe said she hopes the reports, while painful for the victims, will help get the change needed to help the community.

“I feel like it’s hard to come together and talk about challenges all the time. And it’s also hard, especially when resources are depleted, to get everybody dedicated to really spending time diving into this more deeply. And collaboration is key,” Keefe said.