Chaos in Cass County: Verbal abuse from county officials at press conference, as entire prosecutor's office resigns

Before the press conference began, some county officials were barred from entry and asked to leave, including Sheriff Clint Roach and Undersheriff Tim Schurr. At one point, the sheriff told the man barring the door that if he touched him, "he would go to jail."

Those turned away used profanities aimed at Fitz, who then threatened to call the Michigan State Police to remove the undersheriff. 

The entire angry confrontation was caught on video by ABC57, including the suggestion yelled by the county sheriff to contact him at his office for his side of the story.

When ABC57 reporter Kylee Leahy tried to contact the sheriff on the phone and at his office, she was told the sheriff was unavailable.

Following the confrontation, Fitz explained some of the tension his office felt against the county commissioners, pointing to a meeting on April 9, during which his entire office was denied raises.

Reporter Kylee Leahy then interviewed Jason Ronning, a former Cass County Prosecutor under Fitz, who spoke of long running issues within county government.

"Those two departments as a whole, at least at the top did not get along,” Ronning said, referring to the sheriff’s office. “That's not just this time, it's the previous sheriff and the previous sheriff to that, it's been consistent.”

Similar to Fitz, Ronning chose to leave Cass County after commissioners denied a retention plan for county employees. “I left because that retention policy was shot down (based) on the personal grievances of a limited number of officials, and the boards caved,” Ronning said. “That is why I left.”

Ronning would have been one of the employees to benefit from the raises provided by that retention plan, and had the raise been implemented, he would’ve moved his family to Cass County permanently to finish his career working with Prosecutor Fitz.

“Each and every one of us received offers (elsewhere) for far more money, and all of us declined,” Ronning said. “We stayed because we believed in what Prosecutor Fitz was doing and believed that he was genuine and sincere about his desire to keep the people safe.”