Hutchinson vows to 'build a better agency' as Hennepin County Sheriff

(FOX 9) - Hennepin County officially has a new sheriff in town.

David “Hutch” Hutchinson was sworn in Monday as the 28th Sheriff of Hennepin County, replacing Sheriff Rich Stanek after a close race this November.

“Today, I am here to say that I am driven to serve all of the citizens of Hennepin County,” he said. “This office will continue to grow and find new ways to keep the citizens of Hennepin County safe, happy and healthy. The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office is already respected and known nationally for its innovation. I promise that we will never stop growing, innovating, and improving. I will not rest until the people of Hennepin County can look at me and tell me they feel safer than before.”

Hutch said his office will always be open to the community and already has some new departmental policies ready to roll out this week, including a focus on the jail.

“We’re gonna make sure it’s safe - safe for staff, safe for inmates, and make sure no one escapes,” he said.

Hutch rose through the ranks as a beat cop and then a sergeant with the Metro Transit police force.
Hutch’s former boss John Harrington is the next commissioner at the state’s Department of Public Safety and predicts big things for the newcomer.

“He is a street cop that’s got a huge soul, a big spirit and enormous heart for the community,” Harrington said. “He’s going to bring community policing to the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office in a way no one there has ever seen before.”

”We’re going to build a better agency, make sure we protect everybody’s rights, but we also do what we do - protect the good people from bad. We’re not going to rest until this community is safer,” Hutch added.