Halyna Hutchins' husband first saw video of her death on 'Rust' set after Santa Fe sheriffs released it publicly

• The family of "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins slammed the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office for releasing a video showing her dying.
• Hutchins was fatally shot last year on the New Mexico set of the movie by actor Alec Baldwin.

The family of Halyna Hutchins — the "Rust" cinematographer who was fatally shot last year by actor Alec Baldwin — has slammed the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office for releasing a "disturbing" video showing the woman dying on the set of the doomed film.

The police body camera footage, which was included in a trove of evidence related to the "Rust" investigation that was released this week by the sheriff's office, shows medics chaotically trying to save Hutchins as she lay mortally wounded on the Bonanza Creek Ranch set in New Mexico.

"Your office trampled on the constitutional rights of the Hutchins," reads a letter sent by the family's attorney Brian Panish to Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza.

The letter, which was obtained by Insider and dated April 27, demands that the sheriff's office "take down" the video footage of the 42-year-old married mother dying inside of a church building set after she was shot by Baldwin during rehearsal on October 21.

Baldwin — who was producing and starring in the "Rust" film — was practicing a cross-draw technique that involved him pointing a Colt .45 revolver at a camera on the set when the shooting occurred, according to affidavits previously released by the sheriff's office.

A live bullet from the gun fatally struck Hutchins. The Western movie's director, Joel Souza, was also injured by the bullet.

The first time Hutchins' husband, Matthew Hutchins, "saw the disturbing and unsettling video footage of his dying wife lying on the church floor" was on the Radar Online news website, the letter says.

The letter states that the sheriff's office "promised to allow Mr. Hutchins to review the materials being publicly released in advance of their dissemination to the press."

The letter continued, "But even this arrangement was violated when your office released the materials to the public before releasing the materials to Mr. Hutchins."

Additionally, the lawyer wrote that Matthew Hutchins fears the "shocking footage" might be "material used by bullies to emotionally abuse" the 9-year-old son he had with his wife "in the future."

The letter also says the sheriff's office "redacted none of the private and and personal information of Ms. Hutchins."

"The damage your office has done is irreparable," it reads.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Insider on Thursday.

Earlier this week, the sheriff's office released a massive amount of files, including police footage, incident reports, and crime scene photos related to its ongoing investigation into the "Rust" shooting.

Mendoza explained during an interview this week on NBC's "Today" show why his office released the files.

"I think the main point is that it was a public records request that we are required to release the information, but it was also an attempt to be transparent in the investigation," he said.

Panish said in his letter to Mendoza that the release of "all the files" was "not legally required."