More than half a dozen people – including Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt – have filed a lawsuit against Hennepin County, citing the lack of action taken by county leaders when complaints were filed against former Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson during his term by employees of the Sheriff’s Office.

Witt, as well as Timothy Stout, the current Chief of Staff for the Sheriff’s Office, are two of the seven current and former Sheriff’s Office employees listed as plaintiffs on the complaint against the county. The lawsuit lists a total of five charges – race discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination, retaliation, reprisal discrimination and negligent supervision.

According to the suit, the employees worked in an environment “filled with bigotry and fear”, and Hutchinson’s behavior was repeatedly reported to the county, which didn’t address his conduct. The complaint goes on to say that the former sheriff “regularly” used derogatory terms regarding race and sexual orientation, among others.

He also reportedly would wave a loaded weapon around while talking about killing people who crossed him, according to the document, which stated the plaintiffs “believed they were ‘sitting ducks’ at work and would be victims of a mass shooting by Hutchinson.”

County leaders allegedly didn’t take action regarding the former Sheriff’s behavior for “several weeks”, according to the complaint.

Among the behavior reportedly made to Hennepin County were Hutchinson’s alleged threats to “fire” his entire Command Staff and Chief of Staff for insubordination and ruin the reputation of certain employees. In the complaint, plaintiffs state that Hutchinson threatened that “karma” would get them to “watch their six,” a military reference that means to “watch their back.”

The document adds that other behaviors reported to Hennepin County leaders include violations of the Data Practices Act, fraud, theft of government funds, misconduct of a public officer, and workplace safety violation statutes and ordinances.

Court documents also allege Hutchinson’s retaliation continued after his term, which ended in Dec. 2022. Earlier that same year, commissioners for Hennepin County had called for his resignation, and held a closed meeting to discuss “legal strategies” against Hutchinson.

As previously reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, Hutchinson chose not to run for re-election after he was convicted of a DWI. Hutchinson’s campaign was suspended nearly two months after he got into a rollover crash with a county-owned SUV on I-94 near Alexandria in December of 2021.

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He then agreed to pay $47,711.69 for the wrecked Ford Explorer, a spokesperson for the county announced in 2022. The County’s Board of Commissioners then unanimously voted to publicly censure Hutchinson in Dec. 2022 after an investigation showed he violated the county’s non-discrimination and respectful workplace policy.

As previously reported, that same report included interviews with 10 people, including Witt.

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Witt, as well as other plaintiffs, were asked by county officials to participate in an investigation into Hutchinson and, due to their reporting, were then allegedly penalized, threatened, or retaliated against by Hutchinson through removal of direct reports and job responsibilities, demotion, defamation, and more, according to the lawsuit.

The complaint adds the county also violated a state statute when one of the plaintiffs was “forced to separate from his employment with the County due to the County’s failure to engage in timely corrective action with respect to the retaliation by Hutchinson.”

Hennepin County officials provided the following statement to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS about the lawsuit:

“It is disappointing to see this action by current and former leaders in the Sheriff’s Office. All County staff and officials are expected to create work environments in which all are respected, valued, and welcomed. All County managers and supervisors are responsible for promptly addressing reports of disrespectful behavior and discrimination – including the managers and supervisors who filed this lawsuit. County Administration took prompt action to investigate these claims once alerted, and worked diligently to address Sheriff Hutchinson’s conduct during a very challenging time with support from the County Board. The County will vigorously defend against these claims. The County remains committed to serving residents, including working with County leaders and staff int he Sheriff’s Office on their everyday operations to ensure justice and safety for all.”