JACKSON, MI (WTVB) – A former Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Department Sergeant has been sentenced for the assault of a female Hillsdale County Jail inmate under his supervision on December 16, 2021.
44-year-old Ronald Leggitt of Marshall, was sentenced by Jackson County Circuit Judge John G. McBain Junior to two years of probation with the first seven days to be served in jail.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says Leggitt pled guilty to one count of Misconduct in Office and one count of Aggravated Assault in November.
Leggitt has also permanently relinquished his MCOLES certification, a requisite for employment as a police officer in the state of Michigan.
Nessel said in a statement released by her office, “With this conviction, Mr. Leggitt has been stripped of his ability to serve as a police officer in Michigan, preventing him from harming others who would have been under his authority. My Department remains committed to holding accountable those who abuse their positions.”
She originally filed one count of Misconduct in Office and six counts of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon against Leggitt.
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 over the course of 80 minutes, Leggitt assaulted the inmate six times by spraying a chemical irritant into her face from a distance of mere inches. During five of the six assaults, the victim was secured in an emergency restraint chair, where she was restrained in wrist and ankle cuffs as well as a chest restraint.
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