(LANSING) – A former Sergeant with the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office has been sentenced for a incident that happened over three years ago.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says 44 year old Ronald Leggitt was sentenced in Jackson County Circuit Court to two years probation with the first seven days to be served in jail.

In November 2024, Leggitt plead guilty to one count of Misconduct In Office and one count of Aggravated Assault. He has also permanently relinquished his MCOLES certification, which is a requite for employment as a police officer in the State of Michigan.

In the early morning hours of December 16th, 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 the arrest. At the jail, she continued to exhibit resistant and disruptive behavior. Over the course of 80 minutes, Leggitt assaulted the inmate six times with mace, spraying it 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.

Nessel says with this conviction, 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. Nessel says her department remains committed to holding accountable those who abuse their positions.