Embattled Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson is taking an immediate leave of absence from his elected position for what he called health-related reasons.
No specific reason or length of time was given in an e-mail that went out to Sheriff's Office staff on Thursday afternoon. Hutchinson declined to comment.
While on leave, Chief Deputy Tracey Martin will be in charge of operations for the Sheriff's Office, which serves about 1.2 million residents.
In December, Hutchinson, 41, crashed his county-owned sport-utility vehicle on Interstate 94 outside Alexandria, Minn., after a state sheriffs' convention. Authorities determined he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.13%, nearly twice the legal limit for driving in Minnesota. He also had his service gun and a bottle of alcohol in the truck.
He said at the time that he had a few drinks at a hospitality suite in the evening and then went back to his room, where he planned to spend the night. But he said he couldn't sleep, packed his bag and decided to head back to the Twin Cities.
He initially told state troopers that he wasn't the driver. He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drunken driving offense, and two other charges were dismissed. He still faces a misdemeanor weapons charge.
As part of his plea agreement, Hutchinson was placed on probation for two years. He isn't allowed to drink alcohol during that time and must submit to random testing. The sheriff agreed to repay the county nearly $48,000 for damage to the taxpayer-owned SUV.
Hutchinson said last December that he went to an outpatient mental health and chemical dependency treatment program after the crash. He vowed to never touch alcohol again and pledged to regain the trust of the community.
