Hennepin County investigating two workplace complaints against Sheriff Hutchinson

Hennepin County has launched an investigation into two hostile workplace complaints made against Sheriff David Hutchinson, who has been on paid medical leave from his $186,000-a-year job since late May.

The investigation began in April, a month before Hutchinson abruptly went on leave for unspecified reasons. County spokeswoman Carolyn Marinan said she could confirm only that the complaints "exist and are pending."

The Star Tribune has submitted data practices requests for texts, e-mails and reports related to the investigation. Hennepin County officials said they are not public data and have declined to provide them.

In the meantime, new records show that the sheriff spent $17,000 in county funds on gas, food and travel in about a four-month span after he crashed his official SUV into a ditch near Alexandria, Minn., late last year and before he went on leave.

In the early hours of Dec. 8, Hutchinson crashed the county's 2021 Ford Explorer after drinking at the Minnesota Sheriffs' Association conference in Alexandria and deciding to drive home to Bloomington.

The sheriff initially told state troopers he wasn't the driver, but he later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drunken driving offense. At the time of the crash, he was driving faster than 126 mph with a blood-alcohol level of 0.13%, well above the legal limit of 0.08%.

News of his erratic behavior and spending since the crash, initially reported by Fox 9 KMSP, has led to renewed calls this month by County Board members for Hutchinson to resign now rather than wait for his term to expire at the end of the year. The board has no authority to remove the sheriff, who is an elected official.

"We have an absent sheriff who is causing more harm than good," saidBoard Member Jeffrey Lunde, who chairs the board's Public Safety Committee.

Through a spokesman, Hutchinson referred inquiries to his lawyer, who did not immediately return a call.

The sheriff said in February that he would serve out his term but not seek re-election this year. He also agreed to reimburse the county $48,000 for the Explorer by having $250 garnished from his biweekly paycheck.

As the county investigation into his behavior has continued out of public view, new attention has been brought to bear on his use of his county credit card for dinners, trips and coffee.

From January through the start of his leave in May, Hutchinson spent more than $17,000 on his taxpayer-paid credit card. He claimed that much of it went for gas and car washes for his county vehicle.

But he also spent more than $3,000 on dining out in the Twin Cities, tactical clothing, dry-cleaning and seminars. His spending in the first part of 2022 amounts to more than double what he charged on his county credit card in the last half of 2021.

Hutchinson spent $2,150 in February for an online class offered by Harvard University called "Advanced Negotiation Skills." That same month, he paid $478 to Stillwater-based law firm Eckberg Lammers for two more classes, "Becoming the Best You" and "Use of Force." He also bought a white-noise machine for $240 from Brickhouse Security and paid $19.95 for one-day delivery.

The sheriff also paid $667.20 for a first-class, round-trip Delta Air Lines flight April 6-8 to the Hartford, Conn., area. A receipt for a Starbucks during that weekend refers to speaking engagements at the "Police Academy and at U[niversity] of Mass[achusetts]."

Hutchinson also purchased a $1,388.20 ticket for a round-trip flight to Phoenix for March 31-April 2 and spent $1,312 to stay at a Residence Inn in Tempe, Ariz.. He also spent $203 to park at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport while he was gone. The receipts gave no reason for the trip.

Hennepin County's spending policy is spelled out on the forms Hutchinson must submit for his purchases: "The expenditure of county funds on food and beverages should not be a frequent occurrence and should be reasonable in amount."

Of the $3,000 the sheriff spent on food and drinks before going on leave this year, $539 went to Caribou Coffee and Starbucks. At Caribou, he made purchases of $25 at each of six stops, $35 at each of another five visits and $40 at one stop.

Hutchinson's explanations are brief and incomplete, making it hard to identify meal partners; for instance, he listed a $35 Caribou charge on Feb. 26 for coffee with two staffers to discuss the upcoming Polar Plunge. He had another $35 charge at Caribou on March 6 to discuss the "post" Polar Plunge with one of his staffers, the sheriff wrote.

In some cases, Hutchinson reimbursed the county for spending, according to notations on the documents obtained through a public records request. On Dec. 7, 2021, the eve of the crash, Hutchinson charged $150.79 at a place identified as "In the Porch" in Alexandria. No itemized receipt was provided, but records show he reimbursed the county for the full amount.

County Board Member Kevin Anderson didn't initially call for Hutchinson's resignation after the crash but has since changed his mind.

"It is absolutely in the best interest of the county that he resign at this point," Anderson said, adding that there's "plenty" to be disappointed in regarding Hutchinson's behavior.

County Board Member Irene Fernando called for Hutchinson's resignation in January and again recently. She called his spending frequent, unreasonable and a clear violation of Hennepin County policy.

Fernando said she also wants to take action to prevent future misuse of county policy and money.

Hutchinson also has had other recent personal legal troubles. On July 6, a Hennepin County deputy served him with a subpoena for a Wisconsin lawsuit in which the sheriff was sued by a former Minneapolis police officer.

According to the suit, Hutchinson bought a 1990 Chevrolet pickup from Ross Lapp for $6,000 in September 2020 but stopped making payments. Lapp sued in Pierce County, Wis., for $4,000, and a judgment of $4,199 was entered against Hutchinson on July 13 in small claims court in Ellsworth, Wis.

Hutchinson didn't show up for his court date, but the judge said the sheriff had called and wasn't disputing the amount. A court clerk told Lapp that Hutchinson had informed her he would send a check for the balance.