Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died after being shot with a prop gun by Alec Baldwin. Photo / Instagram @halynahutchins
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died after being shot with a prop gun by Alec Baldwin. Photo / Instagram @halynahutchins
Halyna Hutchins' widower has lashed out at police for releasing video footage of her final moments after she was tragically shot dead by Alec Baldwin on the Rust film set in New Mexico.
Hutchins, a 42-year-old cinematographer, died after being hit by a live round that came from the gun Baldwin was holding during a rehearsal in October.
Baldwin, who was a producer as well as the star of the movie, had been told the gun was safe and has previously said he did not pull the trigger.
Other clips, apparently from the now-abandoned movie, show the Hollywood star in period dress sitting in the pew of the wooden church and pulling out the Colt gun, which he points in the direction of the camera.
The moment of the shooting, in which director Joel Souza was also hurt, is not seen.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died after being shot with a prop gun by Alec Baldwin. Photo / Instagram @halynahutchins
Hutchins' widower Matthew Hutchins – who had a son Andros, 9, with Hutchins – has accused police of violating the family's rights to privacy and fairness, citing New Mexico legislation which states that relatives would be allowed to review the footage and request redactions prior to release.
Hutchins' lawyer Brian Panish told Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza that the police department had "trampled on the constitutional rights of Hutchins", in an email, viewed by website 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," it read.
"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."
A church on the set of Rust where Haylna Hutchins tragically died. Photo / AP
The email argued that the department's decision to release the footage was discretionary.
The sheriff's office said Tuesday it was complying with New Mexico laws, which require it to make public records available.
"We had received many requests for the information since the beginning of the investigation back in October when the incident occurred and it took us a lot of time to compile the data," a police representative told the Los Angeles Times.
"When information is requested in New Mexico that is a public record, which these files are, we're obligated to release them."
Panish's email also outlined concerns that the footage could negatively impact Andros if school bullies use it against him. It also claimed that Matthew Hutchins saw the footage for the first time on a celebrity gossip website.
"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.
Alec Baldwin gestures while talking with investigators following a fatal shooting last year on a movie set in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Photo / AP
"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."
Former prosecutor for the LA DA's office and criminal defence lawyer Joshua Ritter told the Los Angeles Times that the amount of information Santa Fe police released was "just something that you don't see".
"We're not talking about a few hand-picked reports or videos, but it's almost like they've released their entire file and it's just remarkable to me," he said.
"They've almost invited public opinion to weigh in on whether or not they think criminal charges are strong or not."
