Today, the Office of Professional Standards within the Calhoun County Sheriff's Department concluded its investigation into the January 2, 2021 incident involving sheriff's deputies in the City of Springfield, Mich. The deputy who chose to arrest Mr. Marshall has been terminated.
We hold ourselves to high standards of professionalism to the communities we protect. When we are right, we are right. When we are wrong, we admit we are wrong. On January 2, we were wrong.
Transparency and honesty to our community is the foundation to all of our success. The conduct and actions of this case, in which Mr. Marshall was collecting signatures, does not represent our commitment to our community. The actions that Mr. Marshall took that day of circulating a petition are protected by our constitution. While some ordinances in communities, even within Calhoun County, prohibit vendors from selling items without a permit, no law—local, state or federal—prohibited Mr. Marshall from exercising his constitutional rights on January 2.
Sheriff Steve Hinkley and Undersheriff Tim Hurtt had a productive conversation with Mr. Marshall and his attorney two weeks ago, and the criminal charges in the case were dismissed. We are reviewing procedure, policies and training to ensure our community receives the best service from our department.
