The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) is facing increased scrutiny after failing to take action against a man who made multiple threats to his neighbor as well as their delayed response to a U.S. Department of Justice investigation.

Minneapolis City Council members expressed their frustration with both incidents at a Monday City Council meeting. At that meeting, MPD officials said they needed more time to respond to the justice department investigation into their use of force at a June protest and a legislative directive filed by city council members that further questioned the MPD’s use of force.

City Chief of Staff Jared Jeffries said at the meeting that the city departments, including the MPD, did not have enough time to make an accurate update to the legislative directive. The directive asked the MPD to provide more data about its responses to protests in general.

Council Member Robin Wonsley (Ward 2) said a more detailed response would have allowed the Minneapolis police to address the community’s concerns.

“This legislative directive inquires about one particular protest that was the subject of resident inquiry,” Wonsley said in a statement. “Answering these questions is a way for MPD to demonstrate good faith engagement with the public and a willingness to be transparent.”

According to MPD spokesperson Garrett Parten, the MPD answered most of the questions in the directive to Wonsley before the directive was issued.

While the legislative directive reported the police department’s behavior in 2023, the Davis Moturi case and the MPD’s failure to protect him became the main focus of the meeting.

According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, Moturi made multiple phone calls and emails to the MPD about his neighbor John Herbert Sawchak for violating restraining orders and pointing a gun at him.

On Oct. 23, Morturi was shot by Sawchak in the neck, fracturing his spine. The next day, Sawchak was charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, stalking and harassment.

According to the press conference, the MPD did not arrest Sawchak until early morning on Oct. 28, four days later. After the arrest, community members and the City Council questioned the MPD’s response time.

Alicia Granse, a staff attorney for ACLU-Minnesota, said this case drew media attention due to the police’s prolonged response to the suffering of a person of color.

“I think particularly the optics of this are quite bad,” Granse said. “Mr. Moturi is a Black man. A Black man called the police and asked for help, and he didn’t get it. Instead, he got shot by his neighbor, and then even after he got shot by his neighbor, the police didn’t want to go in and arrest this white man.”

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara issued an apology on Sunday where he said the Minneapolis police failed Moturi.

“We’re trying to rebuild a department that is severely understaffed,” O’Hara said at a press conference. “Yes, in this particular instance, we failed this victim, 100%, and to that victim, I say ‘I am sorry.’”

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples (NAACP) Minnesota President Cynthia Wilson said the apology from the MPD shows a willingness to change.

“When somebody acknowledges that there was an error made, I’m willing to sit down to see how we can move forward to doing things better so that it doesn’t happen again,” Wilson said.

Wilson said the NAACP-Minnesota is currently working with police on neighborhood disputes and neighborhood engagement.

Communities United Against Police Brutality President Michelle Gross disagrees and said the incident proves the MPD and city need new leadership.

“It’s not enough, you know, just to make some new policy and this and that and the other thing,” Gross said. “They’ve got to address the culture of this department. And that’s something that it takes a very strong leader to do.”

In a statement to the city, the group called for the termination of O’Hara and the resignation of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.

The City Council will hold a public hearing on Tuesday to give residents a chance to discuss MPD’s action regarding the Moturi case.

Gross and Wilson said the Minneapolis police need to be more transparent with the public.

“We’re the public and the public deserves to know exactly what’s going on,” Wilson said. “There’s a lot of distrust that’s been lingering within the community for a long time. So it takes time to regain people’s trust.”