A Minneapolis man who police tried to make contact with dozens of times was arrested after allegedly shooting his Black neighbor as he pruned a tree near their shared property line.
John Herbert Sawchak, 54, surrendered to police in the early hours of Monday morning following a five-hour SWAT standoff just as officers were getting ready to deploy gas into his home. He’d been accused of shooting his neighbor, 34-year-old Davis Moturi, in the neck on October 23.
Moturi has been hospitalized with a fractured spine, two broken ribs and a concussion. He had a chest tube inserted in his side to drain blood from his lungs, according to a GoFundMe page.
Police said Sawchak, a white man, fired at Moturi last week from his upstairs window in an event preceding dozens of harassment complaints Moturi had filed with police about his neighbor.
But Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said officers could not reach him since April, stating Sawchak possesses firearms, has a mental illness and knowledge about explosive devices. Executing a warrant was considered high-risk. The chief said that Sawchak had active warrants for his arrest.
Police spent several days on the man’s block trying to make an arrest, hoping that he would emerge from his home. They tried using a psychiatrist and Sawchak’s family to persuade him to come out. They sent the suspect dozens of emails and tried calling multiple phone numbers.
“There was extensive work by our officers to try and make contact, to try and bring this person into custody and we were unsuccessful,” O’Hara said. “We failed this victim. He should not have been shot.”
He added: “We had no reason to suspect that he would shoot the neighbor from inside the house.” O’Hara said that the shooting happened after Moturi allegedly cut a tree Sawchak had planted with his mother.
The suspect has been booked into jail at 2:30 a.m. on Monday on several warrants. Last week, he was charged with several felonies, including attempted murder, first-degree assault, and felony harassment and stalking.
He’s currently in custody on a $1m bond. His next court hearing is scheduled for October 29.
In a GoFundMe page created by Moturi’s wife, Caroline, she called the incident “one of many instances of a lack of justice for Black men.”
The couple bought their home in September 2023. That’s when the negative experiences with their neighbor began, she said. At one point when they reported Sawchak, she said an officer told the couple “to ‘just move out.’”
She claimed Sawchak tried to attack her husband with a gardening tool while doing housework on a 10-foot ladder. In another instance, she said the neighbor tried to chase her husband with a shovel.
“We have reached the point where we need everyone to be outraged with us and demand action. How many times does the country need to see the justice system fail black men before the system changes?” she wrote. “Once my husband is discharged from the hospital, he will be unable to recover in the comfort of his own home.”
The page has raised more than $20,000 out of a $50,000 goal.
Minnesota State Senator Omar Fateh has called for an immediate and transparent investigation into the police’s handling of the case.
“We must hold law enforcement accountable and ensure our public safety policies prioritize community well-being over convenience,” he wrote in an open letter posted on X.
