Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson has been sentenced after pleading guilty to a fourth-degree DWI last week. The charge is connected with a rollover crash Hutchinson got into near Alexandria on Dec. 8.
According to court documents, Hutchinson received a 90 day stayed sentence to Douglas County Jail, a $610 fine and two years of probation. As part of his probation, Hutchinson must complete a chemical assessment, have no driver license or alcohol violations and must abstain alcohol and controlled substance use, with the exception of prescribed medications.
Hutchinson released a statement after pleading guilty to one count of operating a vehicle under the influence, saying in part that he is enrolled in an outpatient treatment program to address his "issues with alcohol" and his "overall health."
"This is the first step in the road toward recovery and regaining the trust of the people I work with and the residents of Hennepin County whom I serve," the statement went on to say. "I have returned to work and will focus on my duties as Sheriff."
The single car rollover crash took place around 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 8 five miles east of Alexandria on I-94. Douglas County Sheriff's deputies said Hutchinson suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken by ambulance to Alomere Hospital in Alexandria.
Hutchinson was attending the Minnesota Sheriff's Association 2021 winter conference at the Arrowwood Resort in Alexandria on Dec. 8.
At the time of the crash, Hutchinson was the only person in the vehicle, which was owned by Hennepin County.
Hutchinson was originally three additional charges, including driving while impaired, operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .08 within two hours and carrying a pistol under the influence of alcohol. The first two were dismissed because he can only be convicted of one DWI charge per incident, and prosecutors agreed to a continuance for the fourth.
KARE TV Minneapolis-St. Paul
_____________________________
No word if Sheriff Hutchinson's driver's license will be suspended, as it would be under similar circumstances for an ordinary citizen. Normally those convicted of DUI in Minnesota are required to replace their standard issue license plates with ones bearing a "W" prefix which allows law enforcement to stop them without probable cause but the account doesn't indicate if that will be a requirement for Hennepin County's top cop. No doubt there was some form of insurance to cover the destruction of the city-owned squad car but it seems reasonable that the company providing the policy would have doubts about being responsible for future damages caused by an intoxicated sheriff, as they would for a badgeless driver.
Interestingly enough, other accounts of this accident, and Sheriff Hutchinson's own narrative, frame the issue in terms of his "health", painting driving while intoxicated as a health issue rather than being a criminal act that is one of the most condemned violations of the social contract. We, and Sheriff Hutchinson, should be very thankful that no innocent person came to harm from his illegal and immoral behavior, rather than a symptom of a hypothetical disease.
It's obvious that no licensed law enforcement officer should be allowed to ingest drugs or alcohol at any time during their employment. Random 24/7 testing by independent laboratories should be required in all employment contracts. Positive tests should result in dismissal. Professional cycling racers live by this regimen but don't legally have access to high-powered automobiles and firearms.
The supposed downside to such a policy is that few would wish to become a cop under those circumstances. That idea would seem to indicate that the country is overwhelmingly populated by drunken dope addicts and that a certain proportion of them are needed to enforce laws that they violate themselves. Maybe that's true.
No comments:
Post a Comment