An OSHA investigator testified on Tuesday that “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed was not given sufficient time to verify that there have been no reside rounds on set.

Lorenzo Montoya was the primary witness known as by the protection within the involuntary manslaughter trial underway in Santa Fe, N.M. Gutierrez Reed is accused of inflicting the loss of life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins by loading a reside spherical into Alec Baldwin‘s gun.

On the stand, Montoya faulted the Rust administration workforce for security lapses that led to the unintended capturing. These included directing Gutierrez Reed to concentrate on different duties, taking her away from her tasks because the movie’s armorer, he stated.

“We got here to the conclusion that she was not afforded time to conduct her duties to one of the best of her diligence,” Montoya stated. “The employer is asking a person to carry out a number of safety-related capabilities for them, whereas additionally telling them that they’re spending an excessive amount of time partaking in these safety-related capabilities.”

Montoya additionally stated that Gutierrez Reed “successfully had no authority” to make selections about gun security coaching on set, a violation of business security guidelines.

Protection lawyer Jason Bowles has argued that Gutierrez Reed has been scapegoated for errors dedicated by Baldwin and others within the manufacturing workforce. The protection has leaned closely on the conclusions of the New Mexico division of the Occupational Security and Well being Administration, which didn’t fault Gutierrez Reed in its report.

Earlier than the trial, prosecutors had sought to stop the OSHA report from being launched, arguing that its objective was to determine administration failures, to not assign prison accountability to particular person workers.

The company levied a $136,793 penalty, which the corporate, Rust Film Productions LLC, was capable of get lowered to $100,000 in a settlement. In disputing the penalty, the corporate argued that Gutierrez Reed was given satisfactory time to do her job.

Montoya additionally testified that the manufacturing had no insurance policies in place to stop dummy ammunition — used to make weapons look genuine in close-up pictures — from being contaminated with reside bullets.

Montoya faulted managers for failing to comply with up on complaints about two unintended discharges of clean rounds. He stated he was “not capable of determine any specific standout cause why an worker can be responsible,” and stated the last word fault for the tragedy lay with administration.

“They adopted firearms security insurance policies, however they completely did not implement them, practice their workers on them, apply them, reference them,” Montoya stated. “Nothing.”

On cross-examination, prosecutor Jason Lewis identified that OSHA can not impose fines on workers, solely on corporations. Lewis additionally famous that the OSHA investigators didn’t rent professional armorers, or have entry to the complete Santa Fe County Sheriff’s investigation.

The prosecution has additionally argued that Gutierrez Reed had hours of free time on the morning that Hutchins was shot. Manufacturing obtained off to a late begin that day as a result of the digital camera crew had stop the earlier night.

The state’s professional armorer, Bryan Carpenter, testified earlier within the trial that the armorer is answerable for ensuring that weapons are used safely on set.

“The folks on the film set trusted her steering to maintain anybody from being harmed,” Carpenter stated.

Within the afternoon, the protection known as its personal firearms professional, Frank Louis Blair Koucky III, to elucidate the mechanics of vintage weapons. Koucky talked at size about his historical past with weapons, together with partaking in 18th-century army reenactments and looking Russian wild boar in California.

He was scolded by the decide when he pulled a few pistols out of his bag to indicate the jury and pointed one up on the ceiling.

“To begin with, everyone’s nervous, as a result of you haven’t demonstrated to us that they’re unloaded,” Decide Mary Marlowe Sommer stated. “So earlier than you begin displaying us the weapons, be certain they’re unloaded, together with that one that you simply simply touched.”

He then held up the pistol to indicate that it was clear, pointing it within the normal route of the decide’s bench. The bailiff reached over the witness stand to push the barrel towards the ground.

Closing arguments within the trial are scheduled for Wednesday, after the protection presents its ultimate testimony.