MINNEAPOLIS — A man wanted on charges of attempted murder is finally in custody following a multi-hour standoff overnight in Minneapolis.
Police Chief Brian O'Hara says 54-year-old John Herbert Sawchak walked out of his south Minneapolis home and was taken into custody shortly before 1:30 a.m. as his officers were preparing to fire gas into the home on the 3500 block of Grand Ave. S. Sawchak was wanted on charges of second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault for reportedly shooting his next door neighbor, Davis Moturi, as he trimmed a tree on the property line on Oct. 23.
Neighbors tell KARE 11 the operation to arrest Sawchak actually started around 8:30 p.m. Sunday as dozens of Minneapolis police officers and SWAT Team members surrounded the home and called out to Sawchak over a loudspeaker, telling him they had a warrant and were there to arrest him. The defendant was told to exit the home using the back door and follow the directions of officers, but he did not. Police say this was a highly dangerous scenario, as Sawchak owns weapons and has knowledge of improvised explosive devices.
KARE 11 photo crews were on scene at around 11:30 p.m. when an armored vehicle known as a Bearcat and a skid loader equipped with a battering ram began breaking out windows in the home. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara told reporters following the operation that his officers made contact with Sawchak's family multiple times to gather information about his mental health issues, and consulted with a psychiatrist about how they should proceed to reach a peaceful resolution. Crisis negotiators used multiple phone numbers and emails in an attempt to contact the defendant directly.
"This was a plan put into motion earlier today. We pulled in dozens of officers to assist - SWAT, drone, crisis negotiators, (and) patrol as well as command staff," O'Hara detailed. "I'm thankful to report that after a series of steps taken very methodically and systematically, constantly giving announcements, ultimately the individual safely emerged from the house prior to us needing to insert gas into the house. That was our next step."
"What we had tonight was an extraordinarily dangerous situation," added Mayor Jacob Frey. "You have an individual with mental illness likely possessing firearms with knowledge of explosive devices and all this happening in a residential area. That is a cocktail that could’ve erupted any moment. Requires the tenacity but also the willingness to do this right."
O'Hara and his department were under increasing public pressure to arrest Sawchak following Wednesday's alleged shooting, which followed months of escalating threats of violence. The chief staged a highly charged press conference late last week after receiving a letter from the City Council directing anger at the MPD for allegedly failing to act on numerous complaints against Sawchak before the shooting and failing to arrest him immediately after Moturi was wounded.
"MPD still has not arrested the suspect despite charges from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for Attempted Murder, 1st Degree Assault, Stalking, and Harassment and a request from the HCAO for a warrant with $1 million bail. MPD told the HCAO they do not intend to execute the warrant 'for reasons of officer safety,'” said the letter from the Minneapolis City Council.
O'Hara responded by telling reporters that Sawchak is mentally ill and the MPD has been waiting for him to leave his home to avoid a "high-risk" situation where the probability of officers potentially using deadly force was "high."
"If we wound up in a deadly situation, the headlines would read 'MPD shot mentally ill person'," O'Hara insisted.
Davis Moturi remains in the hospital after suffering a fractured spine, two broken ribs, and a concussion in Wednesday's shooting. He talked to KARE 11 from his hospital bed and says he feels the police failed to protect his family by not arresting Sawchak during one of the various other incidents that were reported over the past year. Moturi says those incidents run the gamut from using racial slurs and throwing items to holding up a knife and threatening to kill him.
"If you're saying you're scared, what does that do to me?" Maturi said. "You have this body armor, you have professional training… when I call for assistance, when I called for having a knife pointed at me, I had to wait hours and hours and hours."
Monday morning's arrest may not end the debate over how the matter was handled, but neighbors tell KARE 11 that they will feel safer with Sawchak in custody. They say he was well-known in the neighborhood and detailed their own disturbing encounters with him. No one would speak to crews on camera fearing reprisals should Sawchak get out of jail.