Minneapolis city officials announced Thursday that there would be an independent review of how Minneapolis police handled the shooting in south Minneapolis.

The announcement came after the City Council voted to request a review of the Oct. 23 shooting of Davis Moturi. Moturi was doing yard work in front of his house when his neighbor, John Sawchak, allegedly shot him. Moturi was hospitalized with a serious neck injury.

Sawchak was arrested at his home early in the morning of October 28 after a team attempted to negotiate with him for several hours. He is charged with attempted murder, stalking and harassment based on racial bias. Sawchak is white and Moturi is black.

Moturi had already reported Sawchak to the police on several occasions for threats. Critics and officials question why police didn’t intervene before the shooting — and why it took police nearly five days to arrest Sawchak.

A group of protesters interrupted the council meeting to demand a response from the council.

Michelle Gross is the founder of Communities United Against Police Brutality.

“It wasn’t necessary because the Minneapolis police should have done their job,” Gross said. “It took them five days to arrest this man. And I don’t know how you justify that.

The council called for a recess when it was interrupted, but several stayed to listen to the protesters speaking. Council members told protesters they would add a public comment session to an upcoming meeting so they could come back and speak to the council.

The city council voted to ask the auditor to conduct a review of the case.

“It is heartbreaking to see in this case that MPD failed to protect another Black resident,” said Council Member Robin Wonsley. “I know there are so many questions about how this could have happened.”

Police Chief Brian O’Hara said police needed time to gather information before arresting Sawchak. Police believed him dangerous, O’Hara said, and consulted with Sawchak’s family and a psychiatrist to gather information before attempting an arrest.

Activists said they believed police would have responded differently to complaints from a white resident. Cindy Sundberg, whose son Tekle Sundberg was killed by police in 2022, called on the council to act.

“Tell me why this white suspect got five days,” Sundberg said. “He was white, so you waited.” My son was black, so you executed him.

The protesters presented additional demands. They are calling for O’Hara to be fired and for the city to provide financial assistance to the Moturi family.

Minneapolis Community Safety Commissioner Toddrick Barnette said Thursday he would not fire O’Hara.

“Chief O’Hara has done a lot for the department and reform, and I think he is the person to move the department forward,” Barnette said. “The totality of his work in Minneapolis must be considered, and we should not judge him based solely on this isolated incident. I contacted Chief O’Hara and told him I support him, as do city leaders.

Barnette said he and O’Hara fully support an independent review.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey fully supports a review. A spokesperson from his office sent a statement saying, “The Mayor and the City are committed to always doing better, and that means taking a hard look at past actions and finding ways to improve and grow.”

“The Mayor extends his condolences to Davis Moturi, his wife Caroline, as well as their family and friends. The safety of our residents is a top priority and any form of violence or hate speech is completely unacceptable and inconsistent with who we are as a community,” the statement said.