Community activists are gathering at Minneapolis City Hall Thursday to call for the firing of Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara and the removal of several city council members.
This comes just one week after a Minneapolis man was charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting his neighbor, a black man, Davis Moturi.
Activist Marvia Haines took direct aim at O'Hara.
"We want his ass to resign," says Haines to loud cheers from other activists. "We gave him the opportunity to come in here and make change. We believed in him when he came in. We didn't know him but when he got here, he wanted to run the status quo and we are continuing to see bodies laid down dead in the street."
Prosecutors have now charged John Sawchak with attempted 2nd-degree murder and other felony charges after he allegedly shot his neighbor Davis Moturi. Records showed Moturi had called 911 dozens of times before he was shot last week by his neighbor.
Detractors are also calling for Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to step down in the wake of what they call his failures to hold the Minneapolis Police Department accountable.
O'Hara has promised a "full review" of the case, apologized for the lack of police response and said "that should not have happened."
Thursday afternoon, the office of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey released the following statement:
“Mayor Frey fully supports an independent review of this incident. The mayor and City are committed to always doing better, and this means closely examining past actions and finding where there may be ways to improve and grow.
The mayor extends his condolences to Davis Moturi, his wife, Caroline, and 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 does not align with who we are as a community.
Brian O’Hara will continue to be the Minneapolis Police Chief.”
