Sheriff Hutchinson should resign - strib editorial [View all]

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/