Great Lakes Wire

LANSING – Ronald Leggitt, 43, of Marshall, waived preliminary examination and was bound over to stand trial in the 1st Judicial Circuit Court in Hillsdale County on seven felonies for alleged assaults of a county jail inmate under his supervision at the Hillsdale County Jail in December 2021, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. At the time of the alleged assaults, Leggitt was employed as a sergeant by the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Department.

In the early morning hours of December 16, 2021, a woman was brought into custody at the Hillsdale County jail, where Leggitt was supervising operations and staff. Jail staff were informed that the woman had resisted officers during her arrest and booking process. At the jail, she continued to exhibit resistant and disruptive behavior. It is alleged that over the course of 80 minutes, Leggitt assaulted the inmate six times with aerosol subject restraint—commonly known as mace or pepper spray—spraying the chemical irritant into her face from a distance of mere inches. During five of these six alleged assaults, the victim was secured in an emergency restraint chair; restrained in wrist and ankle cuffs as well as a chest restraint.

Leggitt was charged in March with one count of misconduct in office, a five-year felony, and six counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, each count carrying a four-year felony sentence.

“Law enforcement officers have an obligation to protect the physical safety of those within their custody,” said Nessel when announcing the charges. “When their conduct stoops to criminality, we must take such allegations very seriously. My department prioritizes matters of public integrity and will continue to hold those who violate the rule of law accountable.”

A trial date has not yet been set.

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Please note: For all criminal proceedings, a criminal charge is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The Department does not provide booking photos.