(HILLSDALE) - Following his arraignment Wednesday, Hillsdale County Sheriff Scott Hodshire issued a public statement on social media.
In the statement, the 59-year-old Hodshire maintains that the criminal charges against him completely lack merit.
Hodshire says he has spent his 25 year career in law enforcement upholding, defending and protecting the rule of law, certainly not breaking it. He says the situation stemmed from an investigation his deputies joined purely as a courtesy to an out-of-state agency that lacked local jurisdiction.
Hodshire says whether the charges have merit including whether his actions were appropriate will not be debated by his office in the press or on social media, but in the courtroom as our system of justice requires.
Hodshire has acknowledged that his legal counsel has instructed him to refrain from sharing a "play-by-play" of the incident until after his time in court.
Hodshire says he will continue serving as sheriff in his full capacity and will work to ensure that daily operations at the Hillsdale County Sheriff's Office are not hampered by the ongoing legal process.