HILLSDALE — The Michigan Attorney General’s Office has charged a Hillsdale County Sheriff’s sergeant with assaulting a woman bound to a restraint chair at the Hillsdale County Jail in December of 2021.

Sheriff’s Sergeant Ronald Leggitt, 43, of Marshall, has been charged with seven felonies, Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office announced Thursday; the sergeant has since been placed on unpaid administrative leave.

According to information released by Nessel’s office, in the early morning hours of Dec.16, 2021, a woman was brought into custody at the Hillsdale County jail, where Leggitt was supervising operations and staff.

Staff at the jail were informed the woman had resisted officers during her arrest and during the 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 the 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 has been charged with one count of misconduct in office, a five-year felony, and six counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, each count a four-year felony.

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“Law enforcement officers have an obligation to protect the physical safety of those within their custody,” said Nessel. “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.”

Leggitt is scheduled to be arraigned before Magistrate Kristen Olden in the 2A District Court in Lenawee County on Friday March 15. The matter will be conducted in the Lenawee courts following recusals from the district and circuit court judges serving Hillsdale County.

— Contact Reporter Corey Murray at cmurray@hillsdale.net or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @cmurrayHDN.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: AG’s office charges sheriff’s sergeant with jailhouse assault