Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins' husband is outraged over the release of bodycam footage showing his wife dying on set after being shot by Alec Baldwin.
Matthew Hutchins' lawyer Brian Panish sent Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza a scathing email claiming the police department double-crossed the grieving widower.
Hutchins' says he's fearful bullies could use the widely-shared footage of Hutchins receiving emergency treatment to taunt the couple's nine year-old son, after she was accidentally killed by Hollywood star Baldwin while practicing a scene.
Hutchins' claimed the sheriff said he could review all the footage before the department released it to the public, including the bodycam footage of his wife being attended to by emergency services as she laid dying on the Rust set in October 2021.
He is now claiming the police department violated the family's rights to privacy and fairness in New Mexico, which states the family would be allowed to review the footage and request redactions prior to release.
'Your office trampled on the constitutional rights of Hutchins,' Panish wrote in an email, viewed by TMZ and The Los Angeles Times.
'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.
'While the damage of publishing that video is irreparable, taking down the video will end your office's complicity in causing future harm.
Dramatic police bodycam video shows medics battling to save Halyna Hutchins life after the Rust movie set shooting
Halyna Hutchins' husband Matthew (pictured together with their son Andros) slammed the Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza for releasing the footage of his wife dying on the Rust set after Alec Baldwin shot her. Huthins' claimed the sheriff said he could review all the footage before the department released it to the public, including the bodycam footage. Under the law, he would be able to have requested redactions to the information released
Mendoza said the footage was released due to the high volume of records requests the department received
The family also noted the potential trauma the footage could cause Andros, nine, if bullies use it against him, causing him further harm. It also claimed that Hutchins saw the footage first the first time on Radar Online.
'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 wrote.
'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.
