Hennepin County Sheriff's Office

In October 2016, the HCSO provided support from its special operations division in response to North Dakota officials' mutual aid requests,[12] for the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, causing an outcry from Hennepin County citizens and leaders.[13][14] HCSO deputies were deployed to Morton County, North Dakota, along with deputies from neighboring Anoka and Washington Counties, from October 23–31, 2016 as part of an Emergency Management Assistance Compact agreement between the state governments of Minnesota and North Dakota.[15]

Hundreds of citizens protested daily at Hennepin County Government Center and Minneapolis City Hall [16] Among political leaders opposed to Sheriff Stanek's decision were Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith,[17] U.S. Representative Keith Ellison,[18] state Representative Peggy Flanagan,[15][19] state Representative Karen Clark, state Senator Patricia Torres Ray, Minneapolis City Council members Alondra Cano and Cameron Gordon,[20] Civil rights organizer Clyde Bellecourt[12] and Hennepin County commissioners Marion Greene, Linda Higgins,[21] and Peter McLaughlin who, in a Facebook post said, "Indian Nations have a special interest in this issue and that interest must be protected! There's plenty for the Sheriff to do here in Hennepin County," said McLaughlin. "It is not a priority use of the Sheriff's office resources, which the Sheriff controls by virtue of his election.[22]

An online petition by Honor the Earth called on the Sheriff's department to desist in its participation.

We are residents of Hennepin County, MN and we are alarmed at the deployment of Hennepin County Sheriff's Department forces to North Dakota to take part in the hyper-militarized and violent repression of peaceful demonstrations in opposition to the Dakota Access pipeline. In our judgment, the demonstrations by water protectors on and near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation have been overwhelmingly peaceful, prayerful, dignified, and reverent. They have been exercises of the inherent human rights and constitutionally protected rights to freedom of speech and assembly. (...) Hennepin County has absolutely no place and no right to support such activity with our tax dollars. We hereby call on all Hennepin County Commissioners and Sheriff Richard Stanek to immediately withdraw all Hennepin County forces from North Dakota.

— Honor the Earth[23]

In response, Sheriff Stanek issued a statement explaining that his office responded to the request from North Dakota to maintain "the public's safety, preserve the peace, and protect the constitutional rights of protesters" and that the deployment was a routine mutual aid agreement between law enforcement agencies.[24][25] Minnesota deputies were released from their duties in Morton County on October 31 after the state fulfilled its part of the EMAC agreement.[19] Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton stated in an interview that the deployment was a routine mutual aid response, and that "It sounds like they conducted themselves very professionally."[26] Financially, North Dakota eventually reimbursed Hennepin County for the salaries of the officers sent there, but not for the overtime hours needed by the officers who remained behind on duty in Hennepin County.

The HCSO was among the agencies that responded to the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul in 2020.[27] Later, the HCSO was responsible for taking custody of Derek Chauvin and the three Minneapolis Police officers who failed to intervene during the murder of George Floyd.[28][29]

In December 2021, Sheriff Hutchinson pled guilty to a misdemeanor DWI charge after crashing his vehicle near Alexandria, Minnesota. He was sentenced to two years of probation.[30] Although the crash report showed that Hutchinson was driving 125 miles per hour (201 km/h) at the time, he was not charged for extreme speed.[31] Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan called for his resignation,[32] Hutchinson announced he would not seek reelection.[30] In November 2022, Dawanna Witt was elected as the 29th Sheriff of Hennepin County, making her the first woman and person of color to hold the position.[33]

HCSO was named one of 15 nationwide demonstration sites for "policing in the 21st Century" by the COPS Office of the federal Department of Justice.[34]

HCSO, along with the Minneapolis and Saint Paul Police Departments, was presented the 2016 Outstanding Achievement in the Prevention of Terrorism Award by the International Association of Chiefs of Police at the IACP national conference in San Diego.[35] The award is given annually by IACP to one domestic U.S., and one international law enforcement agency.[36]

HCSO was granted the ASIS International Public-Private Partnership Award in recognition of its Shield program, which builds relationships between law enforcement and local businesses and security providers. The award was presented at the annual ASIS conference in Chicago.[37]