A lawyer for Alec Baldwin said yesterday that an investigation by the state of New Mexico has cleared his client of guilt in the case of a fatal shooting during the filming of ‘Rust’, in which the photographer Halyna Hutchins died.
After six months of investigation of the events that occurred in October, the conclusions of the Office revealed that the actor believed that the bullets from the gun that he fired and that mortally wounded Hutchins were false.
Furthermore, the report recognized that the actor’s functions as producer were limited, since he could only approve changes to the script and the cast.
“Mr. Baldwin did not have authority over the matters that were the subject of the Bureau’s findings of violations, and we are pleased that New Mexico officials have clarified these critical issues. We trust that the individuals identified in the report will be held accountable for this tragedy,” Baldwin posted on his Instagram.
OSHB found that the production company of the western had not developed a process to ensure that there were no live bullets on the set, a violation of regulations industry security.
Rust Movie Productions was fined $136,793 dollars for safety violations, which is the maximum amount possible.
“Management had multiple opportunities to take corrective action and chose not to. As a result of these failures, director Joel Souza and cinematographer Halyna Hutchins were seriously injured. Halyna Hutchins succumbed to her injuries“, reads the official report.
One of the examples was that assistant director David Halls, who also served as security coordinator at Rust, handed over a revolver Baldwin without consulting the on-set weapons specialists, either during or after loading the weapon.
The investigation determined that ‘Rust’ management ignored concerns raised by crew members about misfiring of firearms and pyrotechnics on set.
“OSHA determined that Hannah Gutiérrez Reed was not provided adequate time or resources to carry out her work effectively, despite the concerns she had expressed,” shared an attorney for the gunsmith, who is facing an involuntary manslaughter lawsuit filed by Hutchins’ family, claiming that reckless behavior and spending cuts caused his death.
Rust Movie Productions spokesman Stefan Friedman stated that the company disagreed with the findings and planned to appeal.
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