Minneapolis police pledge to expand partnerships to mediate neighbor disputes
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara on Tuesday announced an expanded partnership with community leaders to help mediate civil disputes and prevent them from descending into violence.
Tuesday's announcement came hours before a City Council meeting where frustrated residents demanded answers after the shooting of Davis Moturi, who was struck while doing yard work outside his Lyndale neighborhood home.
His neighbor, John Sawchak, was arrested and is charged with four counts: second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault with the intent to inflict great bodily harm, stalking and harassment.
The Minneapolis Police Department is still short more than 100 officers. But even if those positions were filled, O'Hara argues officers can't be everything for everyone.
"Year to date, there have been over 2,000 calls for service related to neighbor-to-neighbor disputes, or tenant disputes. That's an average of about 45 calls a week," O'Hara said.
For years, MPD had an agreement with a collection of community organizations like the NAACP to be a bridge between the community and police.
The Unity Community Mediation Team, as it became known, mostly mediated disputes about police conduct. Now, O'Hara says the team will widen its reach to lower tensions not between officers and residents, but neighbor to neighbor.
"It takes it to another level when community volunteers are stepping up and saying, 'We've got some training, we've got some expertise in that, and we'll train other folks in the community,' because we want to not only help solve the problem, which is what everybody wants, we want to take some of the burden off the police," O'Hara said.
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MPD has acknowledged, and apologized, for not acting on previous complaints Sawchak. The City Council has ordered an independent review, and members on Tuesday again opened the floor for frustrated residents.
"Our fear is that he will be released again to our community or another community," said neighbor Anna Newcomb.
Standing alongside the chief, Minneapolis NAACP President Cynthia Wilson and mediation team leaders admitted they don't know if their efforts could've protected Moturi, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't try to stop the next crisis.
"We're not going to solve every situation but we are going to be proactive," Wilson said. "We hear the calls that are coming through and we hear the complaints that are coming through."
The City Council has already approved a request that the city auditor do an independent review of Maturi's shooting.
Some community leaders have also demanded there be an independent third-party investigation. They also want the city to pay for Moturi's medical bills, and O'Hara to be fired.
The review by the city auditor is expected to be complete by June. If you want to submit your ideas, you can do so on the city's website.
Jonah Kaplan is WCCO and CBS News Minnesota's investigative reporter and has built a strong reputation for his balanced and in-depth coverage of high-impact issues including the economy, immigration, education, public safety, and the military, among others.
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Minneapolis police pledge to expand partnerships to mediate neighbor disputes
By Jonah Kaplan, Pauleen Le
/ CBS Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara on Tuesday announced an expanded partnership with community leaders to help mediate civil disputes and prevent them from descending into violence.
Tuesday's announcement came hours before a City Council meeting where frustrated residents demanded answers after the shooting of Davis Moturi, who was struck while doing yard work outside his Lyndale neighborhood home.
His neighbor, John Sawchak, was arrested and is charged with four counts: second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault with the intent to inflict great bodily harm, stalking and harassment.
The Minneapolis Police Department is still short more than 100 officers. But even if those positions were filled, O'Hara argues officers can't be everything for everyone.
"Year to date, there have been over 2,000 calls for service related to neighbor-to-neighbor disputes, or tenant disputes. That's an average of about 45 calls a week," O'Hara said.
For years, MPD had an agreement with a collection of community organizations like the NAACP to be a bridge between the community and police.
The Unity Community Mediation Team, as it became known, mostly mediated disputes about police conduct. Now, O'Hara says the team will widen its reach to lower tensions not between officers and residents, but neighbor to neighbor.
"It takes it to another level when community volunteers are stepping up and saying, 'We've got some training, we've got some expertise in that, and we'll train other folks in the community,' because we want to not only help solve the problem, which is what everybody wants, we want to take some of the burden off the police," O'Hara said.
MPD has acknowledged, and apologized, for not acting on previous complaints Sawchak. The City Council has ordered an independent review, and members on Tuesday again opened the floor for frustrated residents.
"Our fear is that he will be released again to our community or another community," said neighbor Anna Newcomb.
Standing alongside the chief, Minneapolis NAACP President Cynthia Wilson and mediation team leaders admitted they don't know if their efforts could've protected Moturi, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't try to stop the next crisis.
"We're not going to solve every situation but we are going to be proactive," Wilson said. "We hear the calls that are coming through and we hear the complaints that are coming through."
The City Council has already approved a request that the city auditor do an independent review of Maturi's shooting.
Some community leaders have also demanded there be an independent third-party investigation. They also want the city to pay for Moturi's medical bills, and O'Hara to be fired.
The review by the city auditor is expected to be complete by June. If you want to submit your ideas, you can do so on the city's website.
The Unity Community Mediation Team has opened nine sites where residents can meet with volunteers to help settle disputes:
UCMT headquarters
4301 1st Ave. S.
Contact: Sherill Herron, 612 407 5031
NAACP Minneapolis
1101 W. Broadway
Contact: Cynthia Wilson, 651 806 7801
Indigenous Protector Movement
1113 E. Franklin Ave. #200B
Contact: Crow Bellecourt, 612 434 6798
Little Earth Residents Association
2495 18th Ave. S.
Contact: Joe Beaulieu, 612 724 0023
New Salem Baptist Church
2507 Bryant Ave. N.
Contact: Nene Hollie, 612 250 8799
Cedar Riverside Opportunity Center
505 15th Ave. S.
Contact: Abdirizak Bihi, 507 437 7947
Voice of East African Women
Contact: Farhio Khalif, 612 707 1202
Nuestra Lucha
Contact: Anita Urvina Davis, 612 868 3532
Quorum
Contact: Rebecca Waggoner, 612 384 1355
In:- NAACP
- Shooting
- Minneapolis Police
- Minneapolis
Jonah Kaplan is WCCO and CBS News Minnesota's investigative reporter and has built a strong reputation for his balanced and in-depth coverage of high-impact issues including the economy, immigration, education, public safety, and the military, among others.
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