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Following the recent spate of police brutality cases in Denver, activists have been lobbying the mayor’s office, calling for action. And it’s an issue Bill Vidal, the city’s new mayor, appears to be taking very seriously. During his swearing-in yesterday, Vidal addressed law-enforcement officers in the city, telling them to act “in a manner that you would be proud of no matter who’s watching” (via Westword). His remarks came as yet another shocking case emerged in federal court. The complaint is on behalf of Alexander Landau, a 19-year-old Community College of Denver student who was allegedly beaten by three Denver police officers wielding a radio and flashlight, according to a separate article by Westword.
The alleged beating was spurred during a traffic stop in which Landau objected to the officers’ request to search his car after officers found marijuana on a passenger. In a photo, Laundau appears severely beaten. Among the officers accused of the assault is Randy Murr, who has also been implicated in another beating–that of Michael DeHerrera. Coincidentally, DeHerrera’s father is a sheriff’s deputy in Pueblo, where Vidal (whose first full name is Guillermo) was raised for three years at Sacred Heart Orphanage after fleeing Cuba, notes the Chieftain.