Dodge Center council candidate charged with assaulting peace officer

Dodge Center council candidate arrested

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(ABC 6 News) – A Dodge Center City Council candidate was taken into custody Thursday evening, according to the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center’s booking logs.

Matt Legler was officially charged 4th-degree assault of a peace officer, trespassing on school property, disorderly conduct, and making a false emergency Friday morning.

He was assigned $25,000 bail with conditions, or $50,000 bail with no conditions at his arraignment Oct. 11.

According to Legler’s charging documents, shortly before 8 p.m. Oct. 10, a Dodge County deputy conducted a traffic stop on his silver Chevy Silverado near Triton Public School after recognizing the candidate’s car.

The deputy knew Legler had been trespassed from all Triton Public School property since May 10, according to court documents.

“Legler had been formally trespassed from the school district by school officials and the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office in May due to previous concerning incidents and conduct at the school on various occasions,” Dodge County sheriff Scott Rose said in a later press release.

Court documents allege that Legler “became hostile” Thursday night and began recording the interaction with two cell phones and a dash camera, then claimed he did not know anything about being trespassed.

When the deputy told Legler he was under arrest, the city council candidate allegedly called 9-1-1.

Rose said according to the deputy’s notes, Legler told dispatch he was being assaulted, and that someone needed to pick up a child from the school as he was being arrested.

The deputy informed Legler that he was misusing the emergency number, according to court documents.

Court documents allege that as the deputy tried to handcuff Legler, he spun around and punched the deputy three to five times in the head before a second deputy tased him.

The first deputy was diagnosed with a probable concussion and was bleeding from the ear, according to court documents.

According to court records, Legler was separately cited for trespassing on school property Friday, Oct. 4 near Triton Public Schools in Dodge Center.

Triton Public Schools superintendent Craig Schlichting declined to share why Legler had been trespassed from school property.

Legler was ordered to surrender firearms to the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office if he posts bail with conditions, according to online court records.

His next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 23.