Police encouraged her to keep reporting the incidents, but, she says, authorities did nothing once they arrived because Sawchak always retreated back into his home. At times, police dismissed her claims, saying they had no evidence. A female officer once told her, “Ma’am, if you don’t feel safe, you better move.”

Finally, they did—borrowing money from her 401k account out of desperation to rent the family a much smaller apartment.

“The system has failed us,” she said when reached by phone this week. The Star Tribune agreed not to identify her because she continues to fear for her safety. “We can be the dead by now.”

Carole Megarry, a neighbor on Pleasant Avenue, has shared a driveway with Sawchak for more than 30 years. Their relationship soured nearly a decade ago when Sawchak became angry that her dog was trampling in her yard or relieving itself in an adjacent parking lot.

“Any kind of intrusion was not welcome to him,” Megarry, 77, told the Star Tribune. Since then she has made sure her dog stays off his property. But she said Sawchak soon began following her, scolding her and recording her as she walked the dog outside, including one Easter morning. That prompted Megarry to file for a protective order in 2016.

She sought a second restraining order two years ago when Sawchak became violent. As Meggary was walking her dog, Sawchak came running after her with a 4-foot piece of lumber and yelled, “Get your dog off my property!” according to court records. He threw it over her left shoulder, delivering a blow that knocked her to the ground, knocking off her glasses.