Dayton said he watched video recorded by the ambulance at the scene of Jamar Clark’s shooting on November 15.
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It wasn’t immediately clear what prompted the shooting or how many suspects police were seeking.
Police spokesman John Elder said there had been no arrests or reports of property damage.
The governor said he saw Clark briefly, then again when he and one of the officers encountered each other.
The scene early Tuesday was quiet, with about 200 people milling around and talking. He says those gathered kept fires going for warmth amid freezing temperatures.
The NAACP said in its statement that members of the public should be able to see the video for themselves and draw their own conclusions, “rather than relying upon the perspective of one government official who is not a trained expert in this field”. The three strangers left the protest and a handful of protesters followed them to a street corner, where the masked men pulled out weapons and gunshots rang out, Omeoga said.
Federal and state authorities have resisted releasing the footage – from an ambulance, mobile police camera, public housing cameras and people’s cellphones – because they said it doesn’t show the full incident and making the recordings public would compromise their investigations.
Authorities have said Clark was shot once in the head during a struggle with two officers after he interfered with paramedics who were trying to assist a woman whom Clark allegedly assaulted.
Some witnesses say Clark was handcuffed that night when he was shot, but police say that’s not true – that Clark was shot as he tried to grab an officer’s gun.
Protesters are continuing to demand the release of video footage of the incident in order to help clarify the circumstances surrounding the killing of Clark.
In that vein, the governor said he asked state investigators to let him see this video clip, which was recorded by a camera on an ambulance that had responded to the scene, according to MPR News.
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton said he would release the tapes “as soon as doing so will not jeopardize the Department of Justice’s investigation”.
Such investigations involve looking into whether police intentionally violated a person’s civil rights through excessive force.
Protesters have said Clark was handcuffed when he was shot and have called for videos related to his death to be released. “But in light of tonight’s shootings, the family feels out of imminent concern for the safety of the occupiers, we must get the occupation of the Fourth Precinct ended and onto the next step”.
“I gave them my oath and my word of honor, there’s nothing in there that can provide any confirmation of this view that we had officers who acted as some allege they did”, he said.
Despite cold weather, protesters remain outside the police 4th Precinct office.
The victims were transported to two local hospitals and are being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, the Minneapolis police department said in a statement.
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Protests have been ongoing since news of the shooting of Clark emerged.
