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‘Rust’ Cinematographer’s Widower Slams Sheriff For Releasing Footage Of Alec Baldwin After Shooting

The widower of Halyna Hutchins, who is the cinematographer that was killed on the set of the Alec Baldwin movie Rust last year, is speaking out to slam Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza for releasing footage of the shooting.

Check out the harrowing video for yourself below.

Hutchins’ Attorney Sounds Off

Matthew Hutchins’ attorney Brian Panish alleged that Mendoza had told the widower that he would be able to review all of the footage before it was released to the public. Now, Hutchins is reportedly worried that bullies will use the footage to taunt Halyna and his 9-year-old son.

“Your office trampled on the constitutional rights of Hutchins,” Panish said to the sheriff, according to Daily Mail.

“We demand that your office respect Matthew, Halyna, and Andros Hutchins’ constitutional rights of dignity, privacy, respect, and fairness going forward. We also demand that your office take down the video footage of Halyna Hutchins dying on the church floor,” he added. “While the damage of publishing that video is irreparable, taking down the video will end your office’s complicity in causing future harm.”

‘The Potential Consequences Are Disturbing’

The video that was released to the public reportedly shows Halyna being attended to by emergency services minutes after being shot by a handgun that Alec Baldwin held.

“The first time Mr. Hutchins saw the disturbing and unsettling video footage of his dying wife lying on the church floor was on Radar Online, an internet website,” Panish said. “The potential consequences are disturbing given how information is misused on social media. We fear, for example, that this shocking footage of Andros’ mother dying may be material used by bullies to emotionally abuse him in the future.”

The Santa Fe Police Department fired back by saying that it released the footage due to repeated requests to do so.

“We had received many requests for the information since the beginning of the investigation back in October when the incident occurred and it took us a lot of time to compile the data,” said one police representative. “When information is requested in New Mexico that is a public record, which these files are, we’re obligated to release them.”

‘Just Something That You Don’t See’

Former prosecutor for the Los Angeles DA’s office and criminal defense attorney Joshua Ritter, however, said that the amount of information that was released was “just something that you don’t see.”

“We’re not talking about a few hand-picked reports or videos, but it’s almost like they’ve released their entire file and it’s just remarkable to me,” he said. “They’ve almost invited public opinion to weigh in on whether or not they think criminal charges are strong or not.”

The shooting that took place on the set of Rust is still being investigated at this time, and prosecutors have said that criminal charges for Baldwin and others are not off the table. Many would like to see Baldwin be charged, as they feel that he is ultimately responsible for her death.

James Conrad

James Conrad’s passion for politics is only overshadowed by his longstanding interest in Hollywood. His unique perspective as a gay conservative fuels him to challenge celebrity views and those who think they have a right to tell anyone how to think or vote. James proudly wields his minority point of view to combat identity politics and cut through his typecast. Fun fact: James’ guilty pleasure is the British royal family.