matthew leavitt

nighty night pig keep yur butt hoe tight

Ex-Montgomery officer gets two years in prison
Calling him "a disgrace to the profession," Chief U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin sentenced Matthew A. Leavitt, a former Montgomery police officer who admitted he violated a interracial couple's civil rights, to two years in prison Thursday.
By Andrew Clevenger
Staff writer
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Calling him "a disgrace to the profession," Chief U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin sentenced Matthew A. Leavitt, a former Montgomery police officer who admitted he violated a interracial couple's civil rights, to two years in prison Thursday.

In July, Leavitt, 31, pleaded guilty to two federal misdemeanors, acknowledging that he wrongly arrested Lauren Reynolds for DUI and that he beat her husband, Twan Reynolds, with a slapjack.

The Reynolds' daughter, Kaleigha, then 4 years old, was strapped into her car seat a few feet away.

Goodwin said Leavitt's offense was "truly disgusting" and "a shock to my conscience."

Moreover, it was part of a pattern of harassment, in which Leavitt and fellow officer Shawn Hutchinson frequently stopped black men and took their pictures, the judge said. They then compiled a database on a computer at the police station, he said.

On the night of Sept. 26, 2008, Leavitt and Hutchinson pulled in front of the Reynolds' car as it was leaving the parking lot of the 7-Eleven in Montgomery, where they had just put air in one of their tires.

Even through she had not been drinking, and over her protestations of innocence and requests for a Breathalyzer test, Leavitt arrested Lauren Reynolds for DUI. When Twan Reynolds objected, Leavitt pulled him out of the car and, amid a shower of profanities, hit him in the head with the slapjack, which has been banned from police use, the judge said.

"At no point had Mr. Reynolds resisted," he said.

Montgomery Police Lt. J.D. Burrow then arrived, and told his two subordinates to stand down while he handled the situation, Goodwin said. Leavitt threatened to arrest his superior officer, who retreated, fearing for his own safety.

The verbal and physical abuse continued after Twan and Lauren Reynolds were taken to the police station, he said.

Leavitt grabbed Lauren Reynolds by the neck and shoved her against the wall, then licked her neck, the judge said. Leavitt also put on a plastic glove, squirted pepper spray onto his finger, and rubbed the irritant in Twan Reynolds' face and eyes, he said.

For two weeks following the assault, Twan Reynolds had blood in his urine, and he has permanent damage to his right eye, Goodwin said. His wife and daughter have both been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, he said.

After the incident, the couple slept in shifts and kept a shotgun in their home because there were rumors that Leavitt was going to kill them, the judge said.

Goodwin said he respected and admired almost all of the police officers he knows, because they do a dangerous, difficult and stressful job.

"Actions such as this diminish trust and respect for the police," he said.

During the hearing on Thursday, Lauren Reynolds told Goodwin that what started as a pleasant family outing to a football game ended as a nightmare.

"You haven't been introduced to the Montgomery Police Department yet," she recalled Leavitt as saying before he arrested her. "We are about to show you what we're all about."

At the station, Leavitt screamed, "We own this town!" and continued his demeaning and degrading behavior, she said.

She now struggles with what to tell her daughter, who no longer trusts police officers or other authority figures, she said.

Goodwin sentenced Leavitt to two years, the maximum prison time allowed under the plea agreement. He noted the federal sentencing guidelines recommended a sentence of between 97 and 121 months for Leavitt's conduct, which, he said, "seems about right to me."

As part of the plea deal, Leavitt agreed to surrender his certification to be a police officer in West Virginia.

Leavitt has not taken responsibility for his actions, Goodwin said. He noted that Leavitt told the probation officer who interviewed him that he had made a mistake by not arresting Burrow and Montgomery Mayor James F. Higgins Jr. for interfering with police business on the night of the assault.

Leavitt also told the probation officer that he only took the plea deal because "idiots on the jury" might find him guilty and that he "stood by his actions that day," Goodwin said.

Goodwin ordered Leavitt to report to prison by Jan. 11, and to keep at least a quarter-mile away from the Reynolds family at all times.

The judge did not order restitution, noting that the Reynolds family had filed a civil lawsuit against Leavitt and that a civil jury could best determine the amount, if any, that was owed to the victims.

Mike Clifford, the Reynolds' civil attorney, attended the hearing, as did lawyers who represent Leavitt and other defendants in the civil case.

After the hearing, Twan Reynolds said that it was important for Leavitt to face the consequences of his actions. "Several other people were subject to [abuse from Leavitt] before we were, and nothing was done about it," he said.

Lauren Reynolds said she was glad that the judge understood how terrifying the experience had been for her. "Knowing that [Leavitt] will be punished started to put me at ease," she said.

Clifford, who has filed several lawsuits against Leavitt, Hutchinson and the town of Montgomery, said the Reynolds' civil lawsuit is still pending.

Clifford, a former Kanawha County prosecutor, said that local law enforcement ignored the case until the FBI became involved. "The prosecuting attorney of Fayette County and Kanawha County did nothing to assist this case," he said.

U.S. Attorney Chuck Miller said that his office received more than 20 complaints about Leavitt from numerous individuals who did not know each other, many of whom testified before the federal grand jury.

"This sentence should serve as a reminder and a message to those rogue officers who abuse their power and violate the public trust," he said.