Montgomery Settles Lawsuit in Civil Rights Case

(Montgomery) Montgomery has settled a substantial lawsuit with a biracial couple who says city police violated their civil rights. The Eastern Kanawha County city settled a lawsuit with Twan and Lauren Reynolds for around $500,000, but Montgomery did not admit guilt.

Attorney Mike Clifford represented the Reynolds throughout the ordeal. He says the conviction of one officer in federal court was proof enough for him that there was a problem in the town.

'If the mayor and the city council doesn't realize they had a problem and doesn't become proactive to do something about it, well, I haven't gone away. I will still be around to help them, and the way I generally tend to help them do things is not really the most pleasant way in the world," says Clifford.

The man responsible for the couple's ordeal was 31-year-old Matthew Leavitt of South Charleston. He was convicted in September of misdemeanor civil rights charges after unlawfully arresting Lauren for drunk driving while he was employed by the Montgomery Police Department. She was not drinking at the time and passed a Breathalyzer test.

Leavitt also beat Lauren's husband Twan with a slapjack. The Reynolds daughter was present in the car at the time and witnessed much of the incident.

The civil suit also detailed further alleged abuses by Leavitt while he was working that day. The suit says the former officer pepper sprayed Twan, sexually harassed Lauren by licking her on the neck, and made derogatory comments to the biracial couple. Clifford says as far he knows Leavitt is not repentant about his crimes.

"Maybe he's unrepentant now, but maybe with the passage of time he'll be able to contemplate the circumstance as it existed not only in his eyes but in also in the eyes of this mixed race couple in Montgomery," the attorney says.

Leavitt was sentenced to two years in federal prison for his crimes and is no longer allowed to serve as a police officer.

Clifford says Twan Reynolds continues to recover from physical injuries sustained by Leavitt and Lauren and their daughter are still dealing with the emotional trauma of the ordeal.