‘Touch My Tree Again… I Will Shoot You’: Minneapolis Police Under Fire After Black Neighbor Shot By White Suspect They Knew Was ‘Armed and Dangerous’ But Ignored for Over a Year

A white Minneapolis man accused of shooting and critically injuring his Black neighbor had made a series of threats against the victim that critics say were ignored by police. Minneapolis Police Department Chief Brian O’Hara admitted as much Monday, telling reporters, “Yes, we failed this victim — he should not have been shot.” John Herbert Sawchak, 54,& was arrested earlier Monday and charged with attempted second-degree murder following an extended standoff with MPD’s SWAT unit in connection to allegedly shooting his neighbor, Davis Moturi, 34, in the neck five days earlier. Moturi was pruning a tree that Sawchak had planted with his mother when the suspect started shooting from his upstairs window. Davis Moturi was shot while pruning a tree in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo: GoFundMe) The previous week, according to The Minneapolis Star Tribune, Sawchak allegedly pointed a gun at Moturi and told him, “Touch my tree again, and I will shoot you,” according to the criminal complaint. Moturi sustained a fractured spine, two broken ribs and a concussion. He had contacted police several times since April about harassment from Sawchak. O’Hara said police resisted arresting him because he was considered high-risk because he has a history of mental illness...