WARNING: The audio of this story contains graphic descriptions of violence and this web post contains a graphic photograph.

In 2009, Alex Landau was a student at Community College of Denver. After a traffic stop one night, he was severely beaten by Denver Police officers.

Alex is African American. He was adopted by a white couple and he grew up in largely white, middle-class suburbs of Denver.

landau_extra1Alex and his mother, Patsy Hathaway, came to StoryCorps to talk about how Alex’s race has influenced his life and what happened that night when police pulled him over.

In 2011, Alex was awarded a $795,000 settlement from the City of Denver.

Two of the officers involved have since been fired from the Denver Police Department for other incidents.

Click here to watch “Traffic Stop,” Alex’s story told as a StoryCorps animated short.

Originally aired August 15, 2014, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Above photo of Alex Landau taken the night of January 15, 2009, courtesy of Alex Landau.