The preference, he said, was to arrest Sawchak outside, but “in this case, this suspect is a recluse and doesn’t leave the house.”

Members of the City Council criticized the MPD for handling the case, expressing outrage at the department’s inability to protect a resident “from a clear, persistent and widely reported threat posed by his neighbor.”

The Moturis have reported to police at least 19 incidents of vandalism, destruction of property, theft, harassment, hate speech and other verbal threats, including threats of violence, involving Sawchak since last fall — shortly after the couple moved. Sawchak is white and Moturi. it is Black.

Over the weekend, as frustration continued to flow over the lack of resolution in the case, several council members released statements calling for MPD to move in to make an arrest.

“Our police chief is hiding behind excuses and our mayor is … just hiding,” Council Member Emily Koski wrote on X.

Less than two hours later, from the site of one unrelated fatal shooting at a homeless camp, O’Hara recognized that his police failed to protect Moturi and apologized.