Halyna Hutchins' Family Not Happy After Footage of Her Shooting Is Released

Footage of the Rust on-set shooting was recently released by investigators, and the family of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is not happy about it. Entertainment Tonight reports that attorney Brian Panish, who represents Hutchins's family, sent a letter to the Santa Fe Sheriff's Office asking Sheriff Adan Mendoza to take down the footage that was recovered. In an email, Panish writes that the sheriff's office "trampled on the constitutional rights" of Hutchins' husband Matt and their son, Andros Hutchins, by releasing the footage.

Panish reportedly goes on to claim that the sheriff's office had previously "promised to allow Mr. Hutchins to review the materials being publicly released in advance of their dissemination to the press," but later changed the plan and gave him "less than a business day to review the materials," which Panish calls "wholly inadequate... given the sheer volume of material." Panish went on to write that the sheriff's office "failed to give the Hutchins the 'dignity and privacy' the New Mexico constitution affords them including the right to request that discretion be exercised, and sensitive material be redacted." Panish also alleges that "even this arrangement was violated when your office released the materials to the public before releasing the materials to Mr. Hutchins."

Panish continued, "The first time Mr. Hutchins saw the disturbing and unsettling video footage of his dying wife lying on the church floor was on... an internet website. A greater respect for the Hutchins' constitutional rights would not have allowed the video footage to be released." He then stated that there are many "potential consequences" of the footage being made public, including the possibility that "this shocking footage of Andros' mother dying may be material used by bullies to emotionally abuse him in the future."

"What is most troubling about the actions of your office in releasing all the files is that the action were not legally required," Panish adds. "... What is more, your office has the power to redact 'protected personal identifier information contained in public records,' but inexplicably decided not to... Even worse, it appears your office violated New Mexico's IPRA law... [by making] all such records available via your Dropbox account." 

Finally, Panish stated that he and his clients "demand that your office respect Matthew, Halyna, and Andros Hutchins' constitutional rights of dignity, privacy, respect, and fairness going forward." Hutchins was killed after a prop F.lli Pietta 45 Long Colt Revolver that actor Alec Baldwin was holding, discharged. The gun was initially not believed to be loaded with live rounds. Baldwin has denied any wrongdoing in the incident.