Sheriff Hutchinson should resign - strib editorial
The credibility of those chosen to enforce the law is critical. Meanwhile, the affliction of alcohol abuse affects people from all walks of life.
So when Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson crashed his county-owned vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in early December and admitted that he had a drinking problem he needed to address, the Star Tribune Editorial Board weighed the situation with considerable attention and mixed opinions. The view that prevailed held that Hutchinson should atone for his mistake, undergo appropriate treatment and return to work.
It's a forbearance that has been afforded to other elected officials who have committed drunken-driving offenses. It's one granted to many (though not all) citizens guilty of a first offense. It's offered to perpetrators by a society that has a sense of humility and a hope for their redemption, even in the face of a deadly scourge. At the same time, we wrote Dec. 10, both the legal system and Hutchinson himself were obliged to provide a special level of transparency in this case. It is the lack thereof in the weeks hence — and growing concern that there may be other shoes to drop — that now lead us to call for Hutchinson's resignation.
One revelation in particular shreds the sheriff's tattered trustworthiness beyond repair. According to a recently unsealed State Patrol search warrant, Hutchinson told a Douglas County sheriff's deputy several times at the scene of the rollover — which took place near Alexandria, where Hutchinson had been attending a law enforcement conference — that someone else had been driving the vehicle. That was a lie. He was alone.
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Importantly, Hutchinson is losing the confidence of other Hennepin County leaders. As of Thursday afternoon, three members of the County Board — Irene Fernando, Jeff Lunde and Chris LaTondresse — had called for his resignation. Though the board cannot fire an elected official such as Hutchinson, it oversees the sheriff's roughly $120 million budget.
Considering the recent upheaval in Twin Cities law enforcement leadership and the crime patterns worrying residents throughout the metro area, we had hoped it would help with stability if Hutchinson were to stay on the job. Instead, it's no longer clear that the sheriff can be duly focused on the county's needs, or if he is being fully honest with himself about his own.
https://www.startribune.com/sheriff-hutchinson-should-resign/600133341/
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Last edited Fri Jan 7, 2022, 02:39 PM - Edit history (9)
https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2022/01/05/sheriff-dave-hutchinson-resignation-fernando-lunde/“Everyone has at some point,” Hutchinson said to Mayerle.
Fernando said the sheriff’s comment “harmfully normalizes dangerous behavior, and it disrespects the approximately 120 Minnesotan families who lost a loved one to alcohol-related crashes in 2021.”
Yeah sure Dave, and we've all wrecked a vehicle too, just like you.
He sure as hell isn't taking real responsibility for his poor and potentially very deadly-to-others decision with a blow off comment like that.
And in a series of media interviews on December 26, he never mentioned the story he told about the cab driver. He may very well not have remembered it, but he would surely have been told about it during the investigation.
Along with his arrogance in not only refusing to resign, but insisting he is running again.
In this day and age, a decades-long seasoned law enforcement official with his knowledge and responsibilities driving with a 0.13 BAC, even the most bend-over-backward wonderfully wonderful liberal instinct in me cannot turn a blind eye.
For those who think it's no big deal for a first-timer and it's a disease and addiction blah blah blah, do you think the same after the 2nd, 3rd, 4th DUI? If not, precisely exactly why not? If it's just a disease, kumbaya, we are enlightened and loving wonderfully wonderful progressives after the 1st DUI,
then it is a disease, kumbaya, after the 2nd, 3rd, 10th, whatever DUI.
Hennepin County Commissioner Irene Fernando January 5 letter to David Hutchinson:
xxttps://minnesota.cbslocal.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15909630/2022/01/thumbnail_image002.jpg
Change the "xxttps" to "https" in the above URL to see the letter. I didn't want to embed the whole thing here.
Anyway, if one really believes it is such a tough disease that is impossible or almost impossible to control, I would think that one would take every opportunity to at least try to get control of it ASAP. Or resign.
Minnesota State Sen. Omar Fateh also called for Hutchinson’s resignation last month, saying in part “I believe in second chances when it comes to chemical dependency, but the path to redemption requires accountability.”
I've been in hundreds of A.A. meetings in Minneapolis and western suburbs. While the disease concept is probably prevalent, nobody ever argued that it was an excuse for past behavior or behavior going forward.
Update: 5 of the 7 Hennepin County commissioners have called for his resignation. But since he holds elective office, they can't force him to resign. He's up for reelection this November, 10 months from now.