# Hennepin County Sheriff *The elected sheriff's office of Hennepin County, Minnesota, and the record of a county board that funds the office but cannot remove its holder.* The Hennepin County [[sheriff]] heads the county's law-enforcement agency, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office (HCSO). Its headquarters are in Minneapolis City Hall in [[Minneapolis]], the county seat of Hennepin County, [[Minnesota]].[^1] Voters choose the sheriff separately from the county board, whose seven commissioners are elected by district to four-year nonpartisan terms.[^2][^3] The office's place in this record turns on that separation. In Hennepin County, the sheriff and the [[county attorney]] are elected, and they are the two offices that hold arrest and charging power. The [[medical examiner]], auditor-treasurer and recorder are appointed by the board.[^2][^3] The board funds the sheriff's office, but the *Star Tribune* reported in 2022 that it "has no authority to remove him from office".[^4] Sheriff David Hutchinson crashed a county SUV on December 8, 2021 and pleaded guilty to fourth-degree DWI eight days later.[^5] Five of the seven commissioners called for his resignation on January 7, 2022.[^4] He remained in office until his term ended in January 2023.[^6] Two earlier holders appear in the record: Patrick D. McGowan (R), elected in 1995, and Richard W. Stanek (R), elected in 2007. The office was a major component of the [[Metro Gang Strike Force]]. The Strike Force was shut down in 2009, and in 2010 its member agencies reached a $3 million settlement with 96 people who said they were victims of its misconduct. Among the office's listed honors is its designation by the U.S. Department of Justice's COPS Office as one of 15 national demonstration sites for "policing in the 21st Century".[^1] ## Who Patrick D. McGowan, a Republican, was elected sheriff in 1995. Richard W. Stanek, also a Republican, was elected in 2007.[^1] The holder named in the at-issue record is David Hutchinson. He was sheriff at the time of the December 2021 crash, and on February 2, 2022 he announced that he would not seek re-election.[^5][^6] The sources in this record do not state Hutchinson's party affiliation. The county board has seven commissioners, elected by district to nonpartisan four-year terms.[^2] According to the *Star Tribune*, five of them publicly called for Hutchinson's resignation in January 2022.[^4] Stanek deployed deputies to North Dakota in October 2016. Public officials who opposed that decision included Lieutenant Governor [[Tina Smith]], U.S. Representative [[Keith Ellison]] and state Representative [[Peggy Flanagan]].[^1] ## What The office's duties, as summarized on Wikipedia, are: - running the county jail; - patrolling waterways; - providing security for the District Court; - carrying out home foreclosures; - taking part in homeland-security and law-enforcement work; - processing firearm carry-permit applications from county residents, a duty assigned by state law.[^1] The office's Crime Lab Unit is one of six labs in Minnesota accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Laboratory Accreditation Board. Its Patrol Unit supplements smaller police agencies in northwestern Hennepin County.[^1] The HCSO is the primary law-enforcement provider for: - [[Fort Snelling]], Greenfield, Hanover, Medicine Lake and Rockford; - the County Home School, a youth detention center, and the Hennepin County Workhouse; - the 133rd Airlift Wing of the Minnesota Air National Guard and the 934th Airlift Wing of the [[U.S. Air Force]]; - U.S. Navy/Marine Corps Reserve units.[^1] The Minnesota [[Legislature]] established the Metro Gang Strike Force in 2005, after the earlier Minnesota Gang Strike Force was dissolved. The HCSO was a major part of the new force, which was closed in 2009.[^1] In 2007, Stanek spent $30,000 in civil forfeiture funds earmarked for training to produce a video about the I-35W [[Mississippi River]] bridge. Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak and [[Minneapolis police chief]] Tim Dolan said the video contained false information. The company that produced it had also worked on Stanek's 2006 campaign.[^1] The office has received three recorded honors: - designation as a COPS demonstration site; - the 2016 International Association of Chiefs of Police award for outstanding achievement in the prevention of terrorism, shared with the Minneapolis and Saint Paul police departments; - a 2019 ASIS International public-private partnership award for its Shield program, which works with local businesses and security providers.[^1] Hutchinson's crash involved his government-issued SUV on I-94 near Alexandria. Fox 9 reported that he was driving at about 120 miles per hour, was not wearing a seatbelt, and had a blood alcohol content of 0.13.[^5] KARE 11 reported his sentence as 90 days stayed, a $610 fine, and two years of probation with chemical-assessment and abstinence conditions. The sources in this record do not state the formal sentencing date.[^7] ## When - 1995: McGowan (R) elected sheriff.[^1] - 2005: Legislature creates the Metro Gang Strike Force.[^1] - 2007: Stanek (R) elected sheriff; the forfeiture-funded bridge video is produced the same year.[^1] - 2009: Strike Force shut down.[^1] - 2010: $3 million settlement with 96 claimants.[^1] - October 23–31, 2016: HCSO deputies deployed to Morton County, North Dakota, under an Emergency Management Assistance Compact agreement between Minnesota and North Dakota.[^1] - About 2:30 a.m., December 8, 2021: Hutchinson crash.[^5] - December 16, 2021: guilty plea to fourth-degree DWI.[^5] - January 7, 2022: five of seven commissioners call for resignation.[^4] - February 2, 2022: Hutchinson announces he will not seek re-election.[^6] - January 2023: Hutchinson's term ends.[^6] ## Where The office's headquarters are in Minneapolis City Hall.[^1] The 2021 crash occurred on I-94 near Alexandria, and the plea was entered in Douglas County.[^5] The 2016 deployment sent HCSO deputies to Morton County, North Dakota, alongside deputies from [[Anoka]] and Washington counties. Hundreds of people protested daily at the Hennepin County Government Center and Minneapolis City Hall.[^1] ## How The board funds the sheriff's office. Because the sheriff is separately elected, the board cannot remove the sheriff.[^2][^3] When a board majority called for Hutchinson to resign, the *Star Tribune* reported that "the board has no authority to remove him from office."[^4] Hutchinson then announced he would not seek re-election, while declining to leave before the end of his term: "I refuse to be pushed out of my role as sheriff by political figures with alternative motives." He served the rest of his term.[^6] ## How much - $47,000: the amount Hutchinson agreed to reimburse Hennepin County for the wrecked vehicle.[^8] - $610: the fine in his DWI sentence, as reported by KARE 11.[^7] - $3 million: the 2010 Strike Force settlement.[^1] - $30,000: the forfeiture funds Stanek used for the 2007 bridge video.[^1] ## How many - Five of the seven commissioners called for the sheriff's resignation.[^4] - Each commissioner district has roughly 180,000–185,000 residents.[^9][^2] - The 2010 Strike Force settlement covered 96 claimants.[^1] - The COPS Office designated 15 demonstration sites nationwide, including the HCSO.[^1] - The HCSO crime lab is one of six accredited labs in Minnesota.[^1] ## In the at-issue record The project files four at-issue pairs under the office (051, 052, 054 and 098) and carries two related pairs (053 and 057). Each pair is anchored to a 2025 presidential action. - **Pair 051** sets the January 7, 2022 resignation call by five of seven commissioners against the board's lack of removal authority. It notes that the sheriff stayed eleven more months.[^4][^10] - **Pair 052** sets the December 8, 2021 crash, the plea eight days later and the $47,000 reimbursement against the county's position: it recovered the cost of the vehicle but had no means to recover the office.[^5][^8][^11] - **Pair 053** places Hutchinson's "alternative motives" statement about seven weeks after his guilty plea.[^6][^10] - **Pair 054** sets the separate election of the sheriff and county attorney against the board's appointment of the medical examiner, auditor-treasurer and recorder.[^2][^10] - **Pair 098** records that County Attorney [[Michael Freeman]] took a leave of absence in 2019 to enter treatment for alcohol addiction and then returned to the office. The pair applies the same removal structure to that elected office, and its stated subject is the structure, not the illness.[^2][^10] - **Pair 057** records, from a Hometown Source report on Hennepin County's 2026 budget, that [[Law, Safety and Justice]] is about 15 percent of the budget and "[[Operations and Disparity Reduction]]" is 13.8 percent.[^12] ## See also - [[Metro Gang Strike Force]] - [[Michael Freeman]] - [[county attorney]] - [[Stearns County Sheriff]] - [[Ramsey County Sheriff]] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Hennepin County Sheriff's Office* (revision 1351932606, retrieved 2026-10-27) — headquarters and duties; holders elected 1995 and 2007; Metro Gang Strike Force and 2010 settlement; 2007 bridge video; October 2016 North Dakota deployment; awards. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hennepin_County_Sheriff's_Office [^2]: Ballotpedia, *Government of Hennepin County, Minnesota* — seven commissioners elected by district to four-year nonpartisan terms; sheriff and county attorney separately elected; medical examiner, auditor-treasurer and recorder board-appointed. https://ballotpedia.org/Government_of_Hennepin_County,_Minnesota [^3]: Wikipedia, *Hennepin County, Minnesota* — county government structure; sheriff and county attorney separately elected. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hennepin_County,_Minnesota [^4]: Star Tribune, *Majority of Hennepin County Board calls for Sheriff David Hutchinson to resign* (January 2022) — five of seven commissioners called for resignation on January 7, 2022; "the board has no authority to remove him from office." https://www.startribune.com/majority-of-hennepin-county-board-calls-for-sheriff-david-hutchinson-to-resign/600133601 [^5]: Fox 9, *Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson pleads guilty in drunk driving crash* — crash on I-94 near Alexandria about 2:30 a.m. on December 8, 2021, reportedly about 120 mph, unbelted, blood alcohol content 0.13; plea to fourth-degree DWI on December 16, 2021 in Douglas County. https://www.fox9.com/news/hennepin-county-sheriff-dave-hutchinson-pleads-guilty-in-drunk-driving-crash [^6]: Axios Twin Cities, *Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson won't seek reelection* (February 2, 2022) — announcement not to seek re-election; "I refuse to be pushed out of my role as sheriff by political figures with alternative motives." https://www.axios.com/local/twin-cities/2022/02/02/hennepin-county-sheriff-dave-hutchinson-wont-seek-reelection [^7]: KARE 11, *Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson sentenced for DWI* — reported sentence: 90 days stayed, $610 fine, two years of probation with chemical-assessment and abstinence conditions. https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/hennepin-county-sheriff-david-hutchinson-sentenced-dwi/89-b3d2d774-7b63-4738-ac52-3b261b2a1653 [^8]: CBS News Minnesota, *Sheriff Hutchinson agrees to pay Hennepin County $47K for squad car wrecked in DWI crash* — $47,000 reimbursement agreement. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/sheriff-hutchinson-agrees-to-pay-hennepin-county-47k-for-squad-car-wrecked-in-dwi-crash/ [^9]: Hill and Lake Press, *Demystifying Hennepin County: what commissioners actually do* — commissioner districts of roughly 180,000–185,000 residents. https://hillandlakepress.org/demystifying-hennepin-county-what-commissioners-actually-do [^10]: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (presidential action, March 2025) — anchor document the project assigns to at-issue pairs 051, 053, 054 and 098. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^11]: The White House, *Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse* (presidential action, March 2025) — anchor document the project assigns to at-issue pair 052. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/ [^12]: The White House, *Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity* (presidential action, January 2025) — anchor document the project assigns to at-issue pair 057. The pair's budget figures come from a Hometown Source report that is not among the pack's citable URLs. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/