Minnesota sheriff who drunkenly crashed police vehicle sent racist and homophobic texts to subordinates: report

According to Fox 9 News, Hennepin County, Minnesota Sheriff Dave Hutchinson, who oversees county-level law enforcement in Minneapolis, made racist and homophobic comments in a series of texts to subordinates.

The texts messages, uncovered by an outside investigator, come in the weeks and months after he drunkenly crashed a police SUV while driving at 125 miles per hour.

"In a text message from Dec. 30, he refers to Suwana Kirkland, director of Dakota County Community Corrections, who at the time was seeking the DFL endorsement for Hennepin County Sheriff," said the report. "'She get (sic) dfl for sure. Black all the (sic) care about,' Hutchinson texted to a member of his staff. 'People are sick of black people getting things solely on being black,' Hutchinson continued. Kirkland, who is African American, dropped out of the race to focus on her growing family."

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"In another text on May 3, a command staff member asks Hutchinson if he needs any information in preparation for a phone call with Minnesota Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell," said the report. "Hutchinson responds, 'Idk. Maybe. ‘F--k you-ya bald mumbling f----t,’' using a homophobic slur. When Hutchinson was elected in 2018, he was lauded in HuffPost as the 'first openly gay sheriff in the Midwest.'"

All of this comes as Hutchinson has been on medical leave since the middle of May, and is filing paperwork for PTSD disability.

Law enforcement officials around the country have landed in hot water for offensive text messages. In March, an investigation revealed Wichita, Kansas police officers using racial slurs, mocking the murder of George Floyd, and joking about "hunting" Black people. And last year, a barrage of racist messages sent by police in Torrance, California — including exchanges about lynchings and gassing Jewish people — threw hundreds of cases into jeopardy.