Family of ‘Rust’ cinematographer Halyna Hutchins says video released caused ‘irreparable’ damage
“Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins’ loved ones feel they were victimized yet again when the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office released video of the slain filmmaker’s final moments of life.
ABC News reports that Hutchins’ family’s attorney Brian Panish sent a letter or protest to Sheriff Adan Mendoza Wednesday demanding images footage related to the 42-year-old’s shooting death be removed from the internet, despite whatever trauma seeing such footage may have already done to her friends and family.
‘Too early’ to rule out criminal charges for anyone in ‘Rust’ shooting, sheriff says
“The first time Mr. Hutchins saw the disturbing and unsettling video of footage of his dying wife lying on the church floor was on Radar Online, an internet website,” Panish claimed.
The attorney claimed the sheriff’s office had said it would give the victim’s husband Matthew Hutchins time to weigh in on what was released to the public in terms of material being used in the investigation of his wife’s death, caused by an errant gunshot on-set of the Western she was filming in New Mexico in October.
Panish argued in his letter that not only was the grieving widower not given enough time to review what was at his disposal, but claimed even that “arrangement was violated when your office released the materials to the public before releasing the materials to Mr. Hutchins.”
Hours of desperate footage connected to the shocking killing went public Monday. That included video of people who’d been working on set trying to process what had just happened in the aftermath of a gun being held by the film’s star and producer Alec Baldwin, discharging, injuring the movie’s director and leaving Hutchins dead.
ABC said the letter it viewed included Parish expressing concern that footage released by investigators could affect the 9-year-old son Hutchins left behind.
“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,” Panish wrote.
The Hutchins family lawyer demanded Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office respect the victims’ loved ones’ “constitutional rights of dignity, privacy, respect, and fairness going forward.”
Panish specifically referred to video of Hutchins fighting for her life on a church floor where she was struck down in claiming “the damage of publishing that video is irreparable,” but taking action to remove it from the internet would “end” the sheriff’s office’s “complicity in causing further harm.”
New Mexico levies $136,793 in fines, the max, in fatal shooting on ‘Rust’ set last fall
The up-and-coming cinematographer was pronounced dead in a University of New Mexico Hospital trauma center. An investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death are ongoing. Hutchins’ family filed a civil suit against Baldwin in February. Variety reports that the lawsuit accuses the film’s producers of participating in reckless, cost-cutting practices.
Officials in New Mexico levied a $136,793 fine against the “Rust” production team last week. That is the maximum fine for firearms safety failures on set.
