It's been a little more than six weeks since Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson totaled the SUV he was driving while under the influence of alcohol. The wreck occurred on I-94 near Alexandria, MN in the squad vehicle issued to him by the county. In barely more than a week after the incident, Hutchinson's case was wrapped up as he agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor DUI.
Many ascertained that Hutchinson got off too easy, especially since anyone without law enforcement connections would not have been allowed to continue carrying a gun in the aftermath. Heck, you could argue that an independent journalist investigating the crash's aftermath (specifically the condition of Hutchinson's vehicle and its contents) was subject to more scrutiny than the Sheriff himself.
As more details came to light this week about Hutchinson's accident, we're now beginning to understand why he personally was in such a rush to plea this out.
Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson was not only drunk, but driving at more than 126 miles per hour without his seat belt on last month when he crashed his official SUV on Interstate 94 near Alexandria, Minn., according to the investigative file released Thursday by the State Patrol.
Authorities also released Douglas County Sheriff's Office squad video from the crash scene, where Hutchinson initially told responding law enforcement and witnesses that someone else was driving.
Hutchinson was sentenced Dec. 20 to two years' probation on a misdemeanor drunken-driving charge after he crashed his SUV around 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 8.
Keep in mind that state law mandates someone going at such a high rate of speed (100 MPH or more) has their license revoked for six months. This is one aspect of the case which would have behooved Douglas County officials to not plea it out. Hutchinson not only gets to continue carrying a firearm but is also able to maintain his driving privileges, two courtesies which, again, a civilian would not be afforded.
After remaining conspicuously silent on this case in the immediate aftermath, Dem elected officials (many of whom supported Hutchinson in his 2018 bid for HenCo Sheriff) are now piling on.
The details released Thursday were met by growing calls for Hutchinson's resignation.
Gov. Tim Walz said Thursday that while he is grateful neither Hutchinson nor anyone else was killed, the sheriff's actions were "a breach of trust" and he should step down.
"I'm not a resident of Hennepin County, and I'm speaking as an individual on this, but I think most Minnesotans know and most Minnesotans understand that there's consequences for decisions like that. I just wish that he gets the help that he needs to move on with his life," Walz said in response to news media questioning.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said that as a Hennepin County constituent, "I would say it is time for him to resign."
It was January 6 (nearly one whole month after the crash) that 5 of 7 Hennepin County Commissioners called on Hutchinson to resign despite being veritable church mice up to that point. So what prompted those folks to finally speak up? My guess is a mere 24 hours earlier a woman by the name of Suwana Kirkland declared she would be running for Hennepin County Sheriff this year. Given that Ms. Kirkland checks off two boxes on the intersectionality scorecard (black and female), her candidacy trumps the one checkmark for Hutchinson (gay). As such, the current Sheriff suddenly became expendable.
How do those bus wheels feel, Hutch?
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