Surveillance videos captures police officers in Mexico beating two women, who claim the cops threatened to rape and kill them if they reported it

• Alexa Ortiz and Jhoany Álvarez were recorded being beaten by police officers in Nezahualcóyotl, Mexico on Sunday
• They were walking down a street with two other women when two patrol pickup trucks pulled up to them and officers searched them
• A male police officer is seen in the video grabbing Ortiz by the hair and slamming her on the pavement
• Álvarez accused the police of robbing her of 11,000 Mexican pesos, about $490
• The Nezahualcóyotl Public Security department announced Tuesday that it had opened an inquiry into the incident 

Two women in central Mexico municipality of Nezahualcóyotl have accused the police of threatening to kill them after they vowed to seek retribution after a surveillance video caught the moment they were beaten and later sexually harassed.

Alexa Ortiz and Jhoany Álvarez were walking with two of their friends early Sunday morning when two patrol pickup trucks pulled the  group over.

Álvarez is spotted placing a phone call as soon as the police officers approached her and the three other women. 

Jhoany Álvarez (left) and Alexa Ortiz (right) are accusing the police in the Mexican city of Nezahualcóyotl of threatening to kill them if they went public with claims of police brutality after a surveillance camera registered the moment they were beaten on Sunday. Both women said police sexually harassed them and threatened to rape them while they were held

Jhoany Álvarez is searched by a police officer moments before they was arrested and beaten Sunday in Nezahualcóyotl, Mexico

A female cop subsequently searched her handbag before the altercation broke out. As Álvarez’s friends attempted to intervene and question the cops, a male officer grabbed Ortiz by the hair and slammed her to the ground. Two other cops then grabbed Álvarez and dragged her down the street to one of the vehicles.

San Luis Potosí congressman Pedro Carrizales share on Twitter a text message he received from Álvarez following rumors that they had gone missing. 

‘Thanks for helping us. Our friends were very concerned. I want to tell you that we are not missing, we are only hidden because the police threatened us with death,’ Álvarez wrote. ‘We are afraid [because] they beat us, touched us, stole 11,000 [Mexican] pesos from me. They threatened to rape and kill us if we reported [the incident].’  

Jhoany Álvarez accused the police of stealing $490 from her after she was arrested

Jhoany Álvarez and Alexa Ortiz told San Luis Potosí congressman Pedro Carrizales that they went into hiding after the police threatened to kill them if they went forward and pressed charges

Alexa Ortiz (bottom center) approaches the police shortly after the led Jhoany Álvarez to the back of the police pickup truck. She was slammed to the ground by one of the police officers

Álvarez’s face and arms were covered with bruises. 

Separate video footage recorded inside the police precinct showed Álvarez arguing with her mother after she and Ortiz were released after each paid a 1,305 Mexican pesos [$58] fine. Álvarez’s mother repeatedly told her to remain quiet while she  demanded the cops to return the $492 that had gone missing.

The Nezahualcóyotl Public Security department announced it opened an investigation into the incident and that it had been in contact with the Álvarez and Ortiz.

Nezahualcóyotl Public Security department announced it opened an investigation into the incident and that it had been in contact with the Álvarez and Ortiz after they said the police threatened to kill them if she denounced their actions

In the last week, police departments across Mexico have been hit with allegations of police brutality after two videos went viral which showed two detained men being beaten in separate incidents before dying in police custody.

The most recent footage registered the moment Giovanni López was placed in a choke hold by an officer in the state of Jalisco after he was allegedly detained in the street for not wearing a face mask outside the family home on May 4.

López was beaten by the police and shoved into a department pickup truck and died at a local hospital May 5 due to a brain injury. His body showed signs of torture.

The video went public last Tuesday, sparking several protests that turned violent in last Thursday and Friday in Guadalajara, Mexico’s second-largest city. 

At least 29 were arrested and then reported missing after they had been abducted by cops, according to governor Enrique Alfaro.

‘It embarrasses me, it distresses me, it greatly pains me as a man from Jalisco, and as governor,’ Alfaro said in a video posted on Twitter.  

Alfaro ordered the missing people to be tracked down and said late on Saturday they had all been found.

Giovanni López was detained in Jalisco, Mexico, by the police for not wearing a face mask on May 4 and was beaten, an incident which was captured on video. He died as a result of a brain injury

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