Gov. Mark Dayton on Tuesday said he was "very uncomfortable" that protestors briefly closed Interstate 94, resulting in the arrest of dozens, including a local television reporter.
Dayton, in his first public appearance since his father died last week, said he, his commissioners and staff have been monitoring the unfolding unrest after an officer-involved shooting Sunday that critically injured a man in Minneapolis' North Side.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges on Monday called for federal law enforcement authorities to investigate the shooting. A federal investigation, if initiated, would be completed alongside an investigation by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).
Dayton said Tuesday he welcomed an investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, partly to appease protestors and other black community leaders who have strong distrust of local and state authorities. "That concern existed, and we needed to be responsive to that," Dayton said.
The governor, who has criticized the tactics of some Black Lives Matter protestors, said the two-hour closure of Interstate 94 Monday night was unsafe. He declined to comment on specifics regarding the shooting, saying that all the facts "surrounding the incident have not been disclosed."
