Rhetorical Analysis Of Alex Landau's Traffic Stop

Sadio Aden

Ashley Ingle

English 102

2/20/2023

Alex Landau’s Traffic Stop: A Story of Police Brutality Alex Landau shares a telling story of his encounter with Denver Police and the brutality he faced because of the color of his skin. He bravely unveiled the realities of being an African American in the United States, while calling attention to police brutality and its lasting effects. It’s clear that Alex was speaking to all of America with this story, but the way he presented his argument specifically appeals to Americans who do not see police brutality and racism as common occurrences. Alex and his white friend, Addison, were pulled over by the police and asked to step out of the car.

Quickly after, Alex is on the ground with officers abusing him, where he then goes unconscious. Alongside his mother, Patsy, Alex explains how they began to deal with this horrifying situation. There are many instances where Alex subtly uses ethos to build a baseline of trust with people who, like many Americans, do not see the police as a fearful organization. The use of pathos is clear throughout the story as Alex and his mother share their deep emotions that they experienced during and after this tragic beating, though there weren’t many logos used

The use of ethos throughout the story was subtle, yet effective and did a great job of building a reputation that Alex was a respectable young man; within the first few seconds the audience was informed that Alex was a college student. As the story goes on, Alex describes

Although hesitant to call these victories, Alex did begin a big conversation on the Denver Police and the unneeded violence they had been conducting. According to Fox News Denver, “No criminal charges were filed against the officers, but the city settled with Landau for $795,000” (Farley). These officers were then fired, one of which, Nixon, was later rehired. This infuriated citizens and the city of Denver was sued by four women who experienced police brutality with that same officer Nixon. Fox News also reported that, “U.S. District judge says the Landau case is part of a body of evidence that suggests the Denver Police Department is failing to properly train officers on the use of force and is dropping the ball when it comes to punishing them” (Holden). Alex Landau’s bravery in telling his story aided in the Denver Police Department being closely