HILLSDALE, MI (WTVB) – Hillsdale County Sheriff Scott Hodshire has issued a statement after Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged a Sheriff’s Department Sergeant with seven felonies for alleged assaults of a female County Jail inmate in December of 2021.
Hodshire says he was contacted by the Michigan State Police six days after the alleged incident involving 43-year-old Ronald Leggitt of Marshall.
An internal investigation was launched by the Sheriff’s Office. After watching the video of the alleged incident and talking with witnesses, Hodshire contacted the Michigan Sheriff’s Association MISSION team to conduct a formal investigation.
Leggitt was limited to administrative and desk duty during the investigation.
The MISSION team’s report was forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office in February of 2022.
When he found out about the charges being filed by the Attorney General last Wednesday, Hodshire placed Leggitt on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of the case.
Hodshire also contacted Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and requested they place a hold on Leggitt’s certification.
Nessel says the alleged assaults took place when a woman was brought into custody at the jail, where Leggitt was supervising operations and staff.
Jail staff were told the woman had resisted officers during the arrest and during the booking process at the jail she continued to exhibit resistant and disruptive behavior.
A news release from the Attorney General’s office said it is alleged that for over 80 minutes, Leggitt assaulted the inmate six times with mace or pepper spray by allegedly spraying the chemical irritant into her face from a distance of mere inches. During five of the six alleged assaults, the victim was secured in an emergency restraint chair. She was restrained in wrist and ankle cuffs as well as a chest restraint.
Leggitt is charged with one count of Misconduct in Office and six counts of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon.
Each count is a four-year felony. The matter will be conducted in the Lenawee courts following recusals from the district and circuit court judges serving Hillsdale County.
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