Video Shows Hennepin Co Sheriff Hutchinson Claim He Wasn’t Driving After DWI Crash

Photographs and squad car camera footage taken on the scene of Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson’s DWI crash in early December were released Thursday morning, along with dashcam footage from responding officers.

Still not released, body-worn camera video from deputies responding to the crash scene. State law says Hutchinson, 41, must give consent in order for that video to be released, and so far he has not given that consent. WCCO called his attorney and is waiting for a response.

Hutchinson earlier pleaded guilty to driving drunk when he rolled his county-owned SUV. It happened on Interstate 94 in Alexandria last month. The sheriff totaled the vehicle.

Hutchinson, whose blood-alcohol content was over the legal limit at 0.13 according to a urine sample taken roughly three hours after the crash, suffered broken ribs and a head injury in the rollover.

The video and audio released Thursday shows what happened moments after Hutchinson crashed the vehicle assigned to him. According to reports, Hutchinson was driving impaired at more than 120 mph, and he was not wearing a seatbelt.

Dash camera video from deputies responding to the crash scene outside Alexandria show a dazed Hutchinson getting into the back seat of a squad near his wrecked SUV.

Deputies question him about where he was coming from and where he was going. Hutchinson said he was at a sheriff’s conference in Alexandria. He was breathing very heavily and only complained of his tooth hurting.

In the footage released, Hutchinson can be seen in the back of the squad car. He asks a deputy, “Where are we right now?” and tells the deputy multiple times he wasn’t driving. He also asks the deputy what kind of car was involved in the crash.

Officer: Who was driving?
Hutchinson: I’m from Hennepin.
Officer: You’re from Hennepin?
Hutchinson: I took a cab from some person.
Officer: So you were a passenger?
Hutchinson: I wasn’t driving.
Officer: I’m concerned because I don’t see somebody else inside. You’re telling me you were not driving.
Hutchinson: No, absolutely not.

Among the audio files, some of which have been redacted, are discussions with an apparent witness and an investigator talking with a lawyer representing Hutchinson.

Another audio file includes a conversation between the Alexandria Police Department and a taxi driver whom Hutchinson called the morning of the crash. The driver tells police the caller asked if any bars were still open.

Evidentiary files released show three firearms — a revolver, a 9mm pistol and an AR-15 — were recovered from Hutchinson’s vehicle. A sealed bottle of bourbon was also among the items recovered.

In an incident report from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy wrote Hutchinson said he had “no idea” who was driving. The deputy also said the keys to Hutchinson’s vehicle were found “in the lane of traffic a short distance away” from the crash.

“I believe Hutchinson threw the keys out of his pocket so the keys would not be in his possession,” the report states.

According to a state patrol field report, Hutchinson’s initial statement on the crash was released while he was still in the hospital, and he declined to submit to an interrogation.

Hutchinson eventually admitted to driving impaired and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drunken driving charge. Hutchinson was sentenced on Dec. 20 to two years’ probation and fined $610.
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