ST. PAUL - Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton says a key piece of evidence in the Minneapolis police shooting of a young black man is inconclusive.
"It doesn't show anything that would be any confirmation for one point of view or another," Dayton told reporters about an ambulance video he said probably lasted less than a minute.
During a mid-day news conference called on an unrelated topic, Dayton said he asked to see the video because it has become a much-discussed part of the case of Jamar Clark, 24, a Minneapolis man police shot in the head early Nov. 15. Protesters say witnesses claim Clark was handcuffed when he was shot, but police say that he was in the process of taking a gun from one of two officers on the scene and not cuffed.
Protesters say videos like the one Dayton watched will prove Clark was cuffed.
State and federal officials investigating the shooting refuse to release videos taken at the scene, including the one Dayton saw. Law enforcement personnel say the videos, including some Dayton did not see, do not show the entire incident.
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Ambulance personnel called police because they said Clark was interfering with their work on a patient, apparently Clark's girlfriend. Little has been released about the incident, and authorities say videos will not be released because they could "taint" witness testimony they have yet to obtain.
Dayton watched the video Friday after he requested it.
"The camera is looking out the back door of the ambulance," he said.
The governor said he saw Clark briefly, then again when he and one of the officers encountered each other. He would not say what kind of encounter it was.
Dayton said he requested the information because it is ultimately his decision whether to release the videos. "I am the governor of the state of Minnesota and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension reports to me. ... I want to know everything I possibly can."
He added: "We're teetering on the brink of a volatile situation."
The governor said that he told the Clark family during a weekend meeting that the video was inconclusive.
North Minneapolis community activists say they are happy that Dayton called for federal and state investigators to release videos of the shooting as soon possible.
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“I will urge that the tapes be provided to the family and released to the public, as soon as doing so will not jeopardize the Department of Justice’s investigation," Dayton said during the weekend.
While the governor revealed that he watched the video, protesters continued camping outside the Minneapolis Police Department 4th Precinct station and are deciding their next move.
Black Lives Matter Minneapolis leaders say they will continue to occupy the area around the precinct at least through Monday night and plan a Tuesday march in the city. It is possible the encampment will break up by Wednesday, the day of Clark's funeral.
Protest leaders were not saying if they have decided what to do after Tuesday, but claim victory on seeing the names of two officers involved in the early Nov. 15 incident released and winning a federal civil right shooting into the shooting and post-shooting protests.
Protesters have constantly occupied the 4th Precinct since soon after the shooting, although their numbers have diminished in recent days as the weather cooled considerably. Tensions also cooled, after early last week there were frequent verbal and physical clashes with police. Starting Friday night, police often were not even posted outside the precinct house.
A Clark family member asked that there be no protest on the day of the funeral because the family does not want the service to be political.
The service will be at Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Minneapolis at noon Wednesday, with visitation for two hours before the funeral begins.
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By Don Davis, Forum News Service
