A former police officer in Montgomery has pleaded guilty in federal court to violating the rights of a mixed-race couple stemming from a September 2008 traffic stop.

Thirty-one-year-old Matthew Leavitt of South Charleston faces up to two years in prison and a $200,000 fine when sentenced Sept. 24 before U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin.

Leavitt pleaded guilty Monday. He was charged last month with beating Twan Reynolds and lacking probable cause to arrest his wife, Lauren Santella-Reynolds, on a charge of driving under the influence.

Leavitt and Santella-Reynolds are white. Reynolds is black.

A lawsuit filed by the couple accuses Leavitt of using pepper spray on Reynolds, licking his wife's neck while she was handcuffed during an interrogation, and making derogatory comments.