A lawsuit filed Wednesday against Hennepin County alleges the county failed to maintain a safe workplace free of discrimination and retaliation under former Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson.
Seven current and former law enforcement professionals from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office filed the lawsuit, alleging Hutchinson brutally demeaned employees because of their race and sexual orientation.
The lawsuit also states Hutchinson openly threatened to fire employees and often talked about killing people who crossed him while wielding his county-issued gun.
Current Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt is among the plaintiffs. She spoke about the lawsuit on Wednesday, discussing what she endured from the former sheriff.
“We are here today because Hennepin County failed as an employer to fully address these actions and the continuous retaliation that we experience and in some cases, still are experiencing,” Witt said.
Deputies say they reported Hutchinson’s behavior in 2019 and that the county refused to take action, the lawsuit says.
Hutchinson had a tumultuous time as sheriff, which saw him arrested for a DWI in late 2021 after crashing his county-issued vehicle. He later pled guilty to charges stemming from the incident.
An investigation was launched into Hutchinson in April 2022, and the lawsuit says that was when threats against employees allegedly began.
Tim Stout, chief of staff in the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, said Wednesday that many felt like they were “sitting ducks” in the office after Hutchinson made violent threats.
“I lived in fear, I and others, lived in fear at work because we knew that Hutchinson could easily enter the sheriff’s office and he had access to firearms,” Stout said.
Stout recalled one time when the threats were so bad that he was “forced… to make another county sheriff’s office provide protection at my home.”
Stout said they tried to de-escalate the situation, but the county essentially told them to “fend for yourselves.”
“I am acutely aware of the warning signs of workplace violence, and Hutchinson’s behavior contained all the hallmark signs of someone who might commit horrific acts of violence,” Stout said.