Producers of 'Rust' fined $100,000 for safety breaches

Producers of the Western movie "Rust" agreed to pay a civil fine of $100,000 for "serious" workplace safety breaches, which led to the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Last year, New Mexico's worker safety bureau had levied its maximum fine against Rust Movie Productions. "RMP violated workplace safety laws by exposing employees to being struck by discharged rounds or projectiles when firearms were used on the set," the state's Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (OHSB) said in a statement.

Under the settlement, RMP's fine marked the largest workplace safety penalty in over a decade in New Mexico but was reduced from an original citation of $136,793, the OHSB said.

Baldwin charged with involuntary manslaughter

Actor Alec Baldwin was handling a vintage Colt .45 revolver when a projectile was discharged. It killed Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.

Souza was standing behind Hutchins at the time.

Baldwin has repeatedly said he was told by the crew that the gun was not loaded and previously insisted he did not pull the trigger, though FBI firearms experts have said this is not possible.

Film industry weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who worked on the "Rust" set, made a court appearance on Friday, where she criticized the film's producers for failing to provide enough time for firearms training. She has also been charged with involuntary manslaughter. Her lawyer said she would be pleading not guilty.

She had earlier told the OHSB that Baldwin's lack of knowledge and "poor form" using a revolver may have led to the accidental discharge that killed Hutchins.

Baldwin said he cocked the revolver but never pulled the trigger and it was the job of Gutierrez-Reed and other weapons professionals to ensure it was unloaded. He is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter, to which he pleaded not guilty on Thursday.

tg/jsi  (AP, Reuters)