Liz Sawyer

Reporter

Breaking news, crime and corrections

Sawyer graduated from Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications with a degree in newspaper and online journalism. She worships her alma mater's college hoops team and thinks an orange is, in fact, a suitable mascot.

Contact

liz.sawyer@startribune.com

612-673-4648

Latest from Liz Sawyer

News & Politics

Phillip Murphy, Minneapolis citizen journalist who documented the North Side, dies at 61

His Facebook group True North Minneapolis was a hub of community discourse.

November 22, 2024

Minneapolis

Minneapolis police chief said he contemplated his future during fallout from neighborhood shooting

Activists continue to call for Chief Brian O’Hara’s firing over the department’s handling of a violent neighbor dispute. But O’Hara says he is committed to fulfilling his three-year term and has “no intention of turning my back” on the police force.

November 15, 2024

Twin Cities

Under President Trump, is Minneapolis’ pending consent decree with the DOJ dead?

A consent decree is one of the federal government’s most aggressive tools for reining in police departments found to be violating the U.S. Constitution. Republican presidents rarely pursue them. Trump killed Chicago’s after assuming his first term in office.

November 13, 2024

Minneapolis

Before shooting, John Sawchak terrorized south Minneapolis neighbors for more than 15 years

More than a decade before allegedly shooting and critically wounding Davis Moturi, records show Sawchak repeatedly harassed tenants and ran a Black family out of their home.

November 1, 2024

News & Politics

Minneapolis police arrest man charged with shooting neighbor who reported many threats

SWAT negotiators tried to communicate with John H. Sawchak and eventually breached his home Sunday night during a standoff that bled into Monday morning, shortly after Chief Brian O’Hara admitted to failing the victim.

October 28, 2024

News & Politics

One dead after man shoots gun from Mpls. apartment, then flees and shoots two people near Willmar

Police have yet to identify the suspect, who is in custody, or any of the victims.

October 23, 2024

News & Politics

Boy, 3, fatally shot inside northeast Minneapolis apartment

Police have not said whether they believe the shooting was accidental or intentional.

October 21, 2024

News & Politics

Minnesota kids with mental health needs cycle through juvenile justice system, often without options

Youth ruled incompetent to stand trial cannot legally be housed in juvenile detention centers, but they frequently can’t find beds at residential treatment facilities.

October 19, 2024

News & Politics

Minneapolis police arrest man charged with shooting neighbor who reported many threats

SWAT negotiators tried to communicate with John H. Sawchak and eventually breached his home Sunday night during a standoff that bled into Monday morning, shortly after Chief Brian O’Hara admitted to failing the victim.

October 28, 2024

News & Politics

One dead after man shoots gun from Mpls. apartment, then flees and shoots two people near Willmar

Police have yet to identify the suspect, who is in custody, or any of the victims.

October 23, 2024

News & Politics

Boy, 3, fatally shot inside northeast Minneapolis apartment

Police have not said whether they believe the shooting was accidental or intentional.

October 21, 2024

News & Politics

Minnesota kids with mental health needs cycle through juvenile justice system, often without options

Youth ruled incompetent to stand trial cannot legally be housed in juvenile detention centers, but they frequently can’t find beds at residential treatment facilities.

October 19, 2024

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