Sheriff Hutchinson suspended by POST Board for 30 days
Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson (FOX 9)
(FOX 9) - The state governing board for police officers has suspended the license of Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson for 30 days beginning Nov. 22.
The decision came in a closed-door session of the Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) Board at their Sept. 22 meeting.
The board voted to suspend Hutchinson’s license for 180 days, but 150 days were suspended as long as Hutchinson doesn’t have any new offenses for the next three years.
The decision stems from Hutchinson's conviction for a drunk driving crash on Dec. 8, 2021, while returning from a police conference in Alexandria.
According to the Minnesota State Patrol investigation, Hutchinson was driving a county-issued SUV at 125 mph on Interstate 94. He was not wearing a seat belt.
Hutchinson initially told police he was not behind the wheel.
Hutchinson pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor of driving while intoxicated. His blood alcohol level was 0.13%. He is serving two years’ probation.
Hutchinson went on medical leave from his $186,000 a year job in late May.
A Hennepin County government spokesperson could not say whether Hutchinson would be paid during the suspension of his law enforcement license. Under state law, all sheriffs must be licensed as peace officers.
As the FOX 9 Investigators have reported, Hutchinson is under investigation for creating a hostile work environment.
Sheriff Hutchinson accused of hostile work environment, sending racist and homophobic texts
The FOX 9 Investigators have obtained personal text messages and office emails that Sheriff Dave Hutchinson sent members of his command staff, who provided them to an outside investigator hired by Hennepin County to investigate claims that he had created a hostile work environment.