The Montgomery Herald, Montgomery, W.Va.

Local News

June 17, 2009

Ex-MPD officer charged with civil rights violations

According to published reports, a former Montgomery police officer has been charged with two federal civil rights violations for his part in an alleged incident last fall.

The Charleston Gazette reported Wednesday that an information was filed in federal court against Matthew Leavitt, who is accused of beating Twan Reynolds with a “slap jack” and illegally charging Reynolds’ wife, Lauren Reynolds, with a DUI during a traffic stop near the Montgomery 7-Eleven on Sept. 26.

The Reynolds’ lawyer, Mike Clifford, told the Gazette a plea agreement should be forthcoming.

Leavitt was fired earlier this year after being on paid leave since the incident. Another officer, Shawn Hutchinson, was fired in the immediate aftermath of the incident.

The officers are also accused of kicking Twan Reynolds and spraying his eyes with pepper spray, and Leavitt is accused of using racial epithets and of licking Lauren Reynolds on the neck.

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