The family of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is slamming the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office for releasing video of the final moments before her death on the set of “Rust,” saying the “damage” the police have done is “irreparable.”
The sheriff’s department released thousands of pages of documents as well as body cam videos on Monday after six months of investigating the deadly shooting on the set of the movie “Rust.” Hutchins died after she was struck by a bullet fired from a prop gun being held by actor Alec Baldwin.
The footage of the chaos on the set included paramedics trying to save Hutchins’ life in her final moments, as well as a distraught Baldwin later being informed by police that Hutchins had died.
A letter from the attorney for the Hutchins family says the sheriff’s office “trampled” on husband Matthew Hutchins’ “constitutional right” by giving “less than a business day to review the materials” before they were released to the public.
“The damage your office has done is irreparable,” the attorney wrote.
The attorney for the family also called for the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office to take down the video footage of Hutchins dying on the floor of a church on the movie set.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza spoke on TODAY Tuesday about why his office released the trove of evidence.
“I think the main point is that it was a public records request that we are required to release the information, but it was also an attempt to be transparent in the investigation,” he said.
“It took us some time to put it together, and we tried to release it as soon as we had everything together,” he added.
Matthew Hutchins is suing Baldwin and other “Rust” filmmakers over his wife’s death.
“We’re pursuing justice every way we can, with the lawsuit seeking to hold accountable the people who are responsible for Halyna’s death, which was totally preventable,” he told Hoda Kotb on TODAY in February.
“In the end, justice won’t bring Halyna back, but maybe the memory of her can help keep people safe and prevent something like this from ever happening again.”
An attorney for Baldwin responded to the Hutchins’ lawsuit saying any claims that the actor was reckless were entirely false.
NBC News reached out to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office about the letter from the Hutchins family but did not receive a response.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
