In New Mexico, Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ squad was fined for a deadly shooting

According to Reuters, New Mexico punished Rust Movie Productions LLC for “willful” safety violations that resulted in the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins last year while filming the Alec Baldwin-starrer Rust.

The New Mexico Environment Department stated in a statement that an inquiry by the state’s worker safety agency determined that the production business knew firearm safety regulations were not being followed and exhibited “plain indifference” to the dangers.
In a statement, Environment Cabinet Secretary James Kenney said, “This unfortunate tragedy would never have happened if Rust Movie Productions, LLC had observed national film industry guidelines for weapon safety.”

In October, Hutchins was murdered when a handgun that actor and producer Alec Baldwin was practising with during filming in New Mexico discharged a live cartridge at her and movie director Joel Souza.

Souza was hurt, but he made it through.

“While we appreciate OSHA’s time and effort in its inquiry,” Rust Movie Productions spokesperson Stefan Friedman said in a statement on Wednesday, “we disagree with its conclusions and plan to appeal.”
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) programme is administered by New Mexico’s work safety agency.

Rust management, including Line Producer Gabrielle Pickle and Unit Production Manager Row Walters, were found to have ignored crew members’ complaints regarding weapon and pyrotechnics misfires on set throughout the six-month investigation.

Assistant Director and Safety Coordinator Dave Halls, according to the report, saw inadvertent discharges but did nothing about it.

Pickle and Row are listed as workers of 3rd Shift Media, a Georgia production business that did not immediately reply to demands for comment. A request for response from Halls’ lawyer was not returned.
According to the report, Rust management failed to provide sufficient time for staff responsible for firearms safety to inspect ammunition received to ensure no live rounds were present.

Hannah Gutierrez, who was in charge of weapon safety, was directed to spend less time on her duties as a set armourer and more time assisting the props department, according to the report.

Gutierrez was told she would be informed if weapon safety training was required when she stated that actors needed it, according to the report.

OSHA determined that Gutierrez was “not afforded enough time or resources to execute her work successfully,” according to Gutierrez’s lawyers.

Baldwin has denied any involvement in Hutchins’ death, claiming that live ammunition should never have been permitted on set.

The death of the cinematographer is being investigated by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office and the Santa Fe County District Attorney. – via Reuters