In his first public comments since the shooting of Justine Damond, Gov. Mark Dayton called the death a "horrible" tragedy but said he had no additional information to draw conclusions about what happened.
Dayton said Wednesday that he left a message expressing his condolences to Damond's fiancé, Don Damond, and another message with the Australian consulate in Chicago offering any assistance he could.
Dayton noted that Officer Mohamed Noor, who shot Justine Damond, had not yet spoken with authorities. Asked if Noor should subject himself to an interview, he said, Noor "has constitutional rights as well as state law about decisions to speak or not speak, so I'm not going to comment on it."
He added that he has been updated several times by state Public Safety Commissioner Mona Dohman.
Dayton revealed that the interview between BCA agents and Noor's partner, Matthew Harrity, lasted four hours. Still, he said, "There's a paucity of information." "To the best of my knowledge, there are only two living eyewitnesses. One, who spoke yesterday to BCA officials about four hours, and the other, who has declined to be interviewed and he's obviously the key person in this investigation," he said. "I haven't heard anymore than what has been reported."
He said that BCA was on the site of the shooting in southwest Minneapolis "almost immediately." "I think the BCA is also stymied by a lack of information," he said. "I think everybody wants answers."
House Speaker Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, said any type of violent incident between police and citizens is "incredibly unfortunate," but said he'd reserve judgment on the latest shooting until more information about the incident is released.
Daudt said he expects the Legislature to take up discussions around police body cameras in the future. But he said earlier talks have often turned controversial, as lawmakers seek to balance public safety needs and privacy rights of people who are filmed.
