November 7th, 2024

In this update

• Election outcomes
• Public comment on City’s actions in incidents involving Davis Moturi

Election outcomes

Yesterday was Election Day, and the outcomes at the federal and state level mean that here in Minneapolis we are likely to be operating under very different and challenging circumstances in the coming years. We are likely to be facing a national landscape that oppresses and endangers many of our community members, like people of color, immigrants, trans and queer people, and many more. 

As we saw in 2016, under a Trump presidency, many cities became the front lines of defense for protecting the needs of everyday people. I know that Minneapolis residents will be looking to city leaders to rise to the occasion again under a second Trump presidency. Many of the priorities that this Council has adopted, like equitable public health, labor rights, affordable housing, environmental justice, and public safety beyond policing are likely to be undercut, defunded, or may even be criminalized at the federal level. I want to affirm that I remain committed to protecting and supporting all residents and making sure that Minneapolis residents have what they need to survive and thrive, regardless of race, income, zip code, religion, gender identity, or any other factor. 

I also want to reaffirm my commitment towards embracing a co-governing model with residents to ensure that their needs are met, particularly as things evolve on the national level. I am proud of the ways that my office and several Council committees have been proactive about co-governance this term. Residents have organized powerfully to bring their needs and priorities to City Hall, and this Council has responded to that organizing. Even just yesterday, several agenda items that advanced out of the Public Health and Safety Committee agenda– labor standards board, carbon fees, and public safety beyond policing– were initiatives that came from residents themselves. I want to encourage residents to keep organizing in your workplaces, neighborhoods, and communities and bringing forward your ideas and priorities. Now is the time for the City Council to continue to step up and meet these moments with commitment to action– not weaponizing process or pragmatism, not pointing fingers at other governmental bodies– but by taking action to protect our communities and win real change for residents. I am committed to doing everything I can to use the full authority of the Council to defend our diverse working class communities, and I know that many of my colleagues stand ready to do so as well. 

Recognizing that this is a challenging time for many of us, I also want to provide the city’s list of mental health resources, including culturally specific resources. 

 

Public comment on City’s actions in cases involving Davis Moturi and John Sawchak

Public comment 

• November 12th at 1:30pm 
• Committee of the Whole Item #1
• Council Chambers- 250 S 4th St, Room 350
• Written comments can be sent to CouncilComment@minneapolismn.gov, and will be accepted until November 12th at 1:30. 

For those who are unfamiliar with this incident, a Ward 8 resident named Davis Moturi was shot by his next door neighbor John Sawchak on October 23. Mr. Moturi is a Black man who had been reaching out to MPD starting in February of this year and made dozens of reports via 911 and 311 about the specific threats and actions taken by his neighbor. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office (HCAO) issued an arrest warrant for John Sawchak in July, but the Minneapolis Police Department did not execute the warrant.  On October 25th, two days after the shooting, I and several of my colleagues learned what had happened and also learned that MPD had still not arrested Mr. Sawchak, despite the fact that he shot Mr. Moturi two days prior and the HCAO had issued a warrant for attempted murder. I and my colleagues wrote a letter to Mayor Frey and Chief O’Hara asking for an immediate arrest of Mr. Sawchak and accountability for the failure to protect Mr. Moturi. Mayor Frey and Chief O’Hara did not take any accountability for the situation until receiving the letter from Council leadership, at which point they began to admit the obvious, that the city failed Mr. Moturi. 

At the Committee of the Whole Meeting on October 29, Council President Payne created an opportunity for Council to discuss the disturbing event, during which we discussed the need for an independent review of the city’s actions and failures. You can watch that conversation here starting at 0:11:30. 

A heartbreaking series of emails from Mr. Moturi to MPD raises many questions about how and why Chief O’Hara and MPD leadership, Commission Barnette, and Mayor Frey allowed this to happen. The City Council has a responsibility to figure out how and why this lapse occurred and then carry out full accountability for any individual actors or city policies that allowed it to happen. Given this, I worked with my colleagues to author a motion requesting that the City Auditor undertake an independent After Action Review of the cases involving Davis Moturi and John Sawchak. This motion passed Council unanimously on October 31.