The title "Hennepin County Sheriff" before David Hutchinson's name grows more unacceptable with each further revelation about his drunken driving.
Hutchinson crashed his county-owned vehicle Dec. 8 near Alexandria, Minn., where he had been attending a sheriff's convention. He admitted the next day that he had been drinking and vowed to address his alcohol use. His blood alcohol level was measured at 0.13, and he later reached a plea agreement that led to a stayed sentence and probation.
Despite the obvious contradiction of a law enforcement officer driving under the influence, the Star Tribune Editorial Board initially supported his return to the job. Problems with alcohol afflict people in all walks of life. People of good intent deserve a second chance. But there was a limit to the board's goodwill if the details of Hutchinson's offense were revealed as egregious, or if he did not continue to be upfront with his constituents.
An important shift came in early January, following reports that Hutchinson lied to law enforcement officers at the scene, insisting that he hadn't been driving. This information, and the fact that he withheld it during rounds of media interviews expressing his contrition, led us to lose faith in his integrity and call for his resignation.
If further support is needed, it arrived Thursday in news that Hutchinson's vehicle reached speeds above 120 mph before the crash. That is indeed egregious.
In our Dec. 10 editorial, we took pains to emphasize that Hutchinson could have killed someone. At the risk of being macabre, we'd add now that it's lucky he crashed before he did.
We reiterate our call for his resignation. The increasingly alarming evidence, his apparent unwillingness to tell the whole story and growing perceptions that the handling of his case may have been preferential all make him unsuited to stay in office. On Thursday, state Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, urged Attorney General Keith Ellison to review the case, and that may be in order.
As yet unseen by the public is police bodycam footage from the scene. Under state law, Hutchinson must consent to its release. Because he seems determined to hold out and run for re-election, this becomes even more important. Voters need all the information they can get to assess the weight of his crime and his subsequent redemption, if any.
