Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Tuesday that his department would partner with the Minneapolis NAACP to provide conflict resolution services in disputes between neighbors, as the department looks to quell outrage over a neighborhood dispute that ended in violence.
Not long after O’Hara and the local NAACP president talked about planning around their joint effort, activists once again filled a Minneapolis City Council committee meeting with calls for the chief’s resignation.
Controversy has continued to swirl around the police response to the harassment and stalking of a south Minneapolis resident. Last month, Davis Moturi, who is Black, was allegedly shot in the neck by a white neighbor, after repeatedly seeking police help over a series of months. His neighbor, John Sawchak, was arrested days after the shooting and charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, stalking and harassment.
Sawchak has a long history of harassing his neighbors, often targeting people of color, according to court records. The Minneapolis Police Department has apologized for its failure to protect Moturi from violence.
So far this year, the department recorded more than 2,000 calls for service in neighbor-to-neighbor or tenant disputes, O’Hara said Tuesday at New Beginnings Baptist Ministries in south Minneapolis. While these incidents have the potential to escalate, they are typically difficult for police address if they deal with civil rather than criminal matters, he said.
“We don’t always have the kind of probable cause that we oftentimes need in order to make an arrest, or if we do take somebody into custody, there oftentimes isn’t sufficient evidence to prove an offense beyond a reasonable doubt,” O’Hara said.
The suspect is then returned to the community where the conflict often escalates, he said.
The mediation partnership would capitalize on existing relationships through the Unity Community Mediation Team, a group of community organizations that work with the Minneapolis police on reform efforts. The team has nine sites in Minneapolis where residents can file complaints or seek solutions for issues before involving police, said Minneapolis NAACP President Cynthia Wilson.
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