Minneapolis police and NAACP exploring mediation services after neighbor dispute turned violent

The Minneapolis Police Department and several community organizations want to provide mediation services to help resolve neighbor-to-neighbor disputes following a late October shooting involving neighbors in south Minneapolis .

A man was wounded in a shooting by a neighbor after months of harassment and stalking that he repeatably reported to police. The department has apologized for its failure to protect resident Davis Moturi from violence. Moturi's 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 , with the targets often being people of color, according to court records.

More than 2,000 calls for service in neighbor-to-neighbor or tenant disputes have been reported this year, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said at a news conference Tuesday at New Beginnings Baptist Ministries. While these incidents have the potential to escalate, they are typically difficult for police to deal with if they are civil, 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 suspects are then returned to the community and the same conflict is often even more heated, 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 currently has nine sites in Minneapolis where residents can file complaints or seek solutions for issues before involving police, said Minneapolis NAACP President Cynthia Wilson.

"It is our hope that through this new initiative, we can prevent some of these tragedies from happening again. The way that happens is little by little, step by step," Wilson said.