Hutchings arrested, charged with DWI

The Montgomery police found Hutchings standing next to his 1998 BMW on Millstone River Road, where he was traveling south before he lost control of the vehicle, according to a statement from the police department. Hutchings, who was the sole occupant in the car, struck a mailbox, fence and tree in front of 297 River Road after he ran off the road.

According to the statement, failed field sobriety tests and evidence of intoxication led to Hutchings’ arrest and transport to police headquarters. Hutchings then declined medical treatment for a cut finger, which came from a wine bottle in the car that shattered during the accident, the statement said.

Though spilled wine was found in the vehicle, “[Hutchings] never made any statement to the fact that he was drinking while he was in the car,” Lt. Jim Curry of the Montgomery Police Department said in an interview. “He was not charged with any alcohol-in-the-vehicle charges or [transporting] open containers.”

The Montgomery Municipal Court is waiting to hear from Hutchings’ attorney before scheduling a court appearance, where Hutchings will enter his pleas to the summonses, court administrator Marilyn Staats said.

Hutchings could not be reached for comment.

Jacob Oppenheim ’09, a student in Hutchings’ Wilson School policy task force last semester, said he was surprised by the alleged incident.

“It really changes the relationship,” Oppenheim said, “when someone you respect does something so disrespectful to the general public interest.” He added, however, that Hutchings was a “very intelligent, respectable [and] experienced man.”

If the allegations are true, Oppenheim said he would find it “very surprising when someone you’ve grown to respect from a class does something as inconsiderate and foolish and injurious ... as to drive drunk.”

Todd Aldinger ’09, another member of Hutchings’ task force last semester, said that the incident does not change his impression of Hutchings. “He’s a good guy, [he] ran the task force well [and is] a great academic adviser,” Aldinger said.

“He always comes to class ready to go, ready to discuss the important matters,” Aldinger said. He added that if Hutchings were guilty, it would be “something he did in his private life outside the University” and that it would not “change the perspective of how I view him as a teacher and a professor.”

Acting Wilson School Dean Nolan McCarty could not be reached for comment. Dean of the Faculty David Dobkin declined to comment on personnel matters.

Hutchings was chairman of the U.S. National Intelligence Council in Washington, D.C., from 2003-2005, during a public service leave from the University. He also served as a special adviser to the Secretary of State, with the rank of ambassador, from 1992 to 1993.

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Hutchings graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. He has received the National Intelligence Medal and the State Department’s Superior Honor Award.