New Mexico state regulators faulted producers of the movie “Rust” in a report Wednesday that said the film management’s indifference to “recognized hazards” had led to the death of the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The state issued a $136,793 penalty on the producers, the maximum allowed under state law.
The agency, the Occupational Health & Safety Bureau, which is part of the New Mexico Environment Department, said in a statement that “the Rust Movie Productions, LLC management knew that firearm safety procedures were not being followed on set and demonstrated plain indifference to employee safety by failing to review work practices and take corrective action.”
It said the production company was issued a “willful-serious” citation, the highest level.
“Rust Movie Productions, LLC was cited for the plain indifference to the recognized hazards associated with the use of firearms on set that resulted in a fatality, severe injury, and unsafe working conditions,” it said.
Ms. Hutchins was shot and killed on set in New Mexico on Oct. 21 during the rehearsal for a scene that required the actor Alec Baldwin to draw a gun.
Mr. Baldwin, and other producers, have been named in several lawsuits seeking damages. But Mr. Baldwin has said that he was not responsible for Ms. Hutchins’s death, since he had been assured that the gun did not contain any live ammunition and because he was not responsible for checking the ammunition or for firearm safety on the set.
Ms. Hutchins, 42, was shot while the production was lining up camera angles for the scene with Mr. Baldwin. The gun went off, discharging a bullet that killed Ms. Hutchins and injured Joel Souza, the film’s director.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nytimes.com
