Today on StoryCorps we'll hear about an incident that occurred in 2009 between police in Denver Colorado and an African American teenager.

When Alex Landau was a college student, he was severely beaten by Denver Police officers after a traffic stop.

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

At StoryCorps, Alex and his mother, Patsy Hathaway, talked about how Alex's race has influenced his life and what happened that night when police pulled him over.

Just a warning -- this story contains graphic imagery and language.

TAPE "I was about ... dead black male"

Alex Landau and his mother, Patsy Hathaway, in Aurora Colorado.

In 2011, Alex was awarded a $795,000 settlement by the City of Denver. Two of the officers involved have since been fired from the Denver Police for other incidents.