STURGIS, Mich. — Former Sturgis Public Safety Director Geoffrey Smith has been charged with three misdemeanors stemming from a drunken driving incident in August, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday.
Smith, 46, was charged with one count of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, one count of operating a motor vehicle with a high blood-alcohol level and one count of operating a motor vehicle with a high blood-alcohol content.
Those are considered a 93-day misdemeanor for the first two charges and a 180-day misdemeanor for the third, respectively.
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Smith waived his arraignment on Jan. 12 and is scheduled for a pretrial hearing at 9 a.m. Jan. 29 in St. Joseph County 3B District Court.
“Those of us who choose to work as public servants must hold ourselves to a higher standard and ensure the trust placed in us by the people is not broken,” Nessel said. “As public servants, we answer to the people we chose to represent and serve in our official duties, and we must conduct ourselves at all times with the public’s best interest in mind.”
Smith resigned his position from the Sturgis Police Department immediately after the Aug. 15 incident in which he reportedly hit a parked vehicle while driving under the influence.
Lab results following the crash show Smith’s blood alcohol level at the time was .208 percent.
Nessel’s office agreed to review the case following a request from the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office due to a conflict of interest.
