The former head of the Sturgis Department of Public Safety has been charged with a trio of misdemeanors by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.
Geoff Smith was charged Tuesday with operating under the influence of alcohol, unlawful blood-alcohol level and high blood-alcohol content.
Smith, 49, was arrested Aug. 16 while off duty. The vehicle he was driving struck a parked car on the side of Lakeview Avenue in Sturgis. Smith resigned from the department less than two weeks later.
State officials said Smith waived his arraignment Jan. 12. He is scheduled for a pretrial hearing at 9 a.m. Jan. 29 in Centreville.
The state’s Attorney General’s Office agreed to look over the case at the request of the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office, due to a conflict of interest.