Embattled Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson Suspends Re-Election Campaign

(KNSI) — Embattled Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson says he will not be running for re-election this fall.

Hutchinson issued a statement Wednesday morning saying that he has had conversations with family, friends, and supporters over the past month and “made the difficult decision” to suspend his campaign.

Hutchinson rolled his county-issued SUV on Interstate 94 near Alexandria on December 8th in a drunk driving-related crash. A report from the Minnesota State Patrol says Hutchinson was traveling at speeds as high as 126 miles an hour, was not wearing his seatbelt, had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and was unsteady on his feet as he told police repeatedly he was not the driver of the mangled SUV. A trooper said he believed Hutchinson even went so far as to throw the keys to the SUV, so they weren’t on his person when police responded.

Hutchinson’s blood alcohol content was .13%, almost twice the legal limit. Hutchinson allegedly had a firearm in his possession at the time of the crash. Per Minnesota permit to carry laws, when a permit holder is in possession of a firearm, the legal blood alcohol concentration drops to .04%. State law suspends the permit to carry anyone caught with a firearm while under the influence for one year.

Hutchinson was not arrested immediately and was taken to the hospital for treatment. He was booked into the Ramsey County jail several days later and quietly pleaded guilty to fourth-degree DWI and was placed on two years’ probation. Other charges were dismissed.

State law also requires the driver’s license of someone caught driving over 100 miles an hour to be revoked, but prosecutors reportedly said they were unaware of Hutchinson’s extreme speeds before he was allowed to plead guilty.

After news of the crash broke, many, including Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, called for him to step down. Those calls grew louder after the official report came to light.

Hutchinson initially dug in his heels, refusing to step down, and in his statement reaffirmed that saying “I refuse to be pushed out of my role as Sheriff by political figures with alternative motives which would likely come at the cost of the safety and security of the residents of Hennepin County.”

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