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Westword reports on the misuse of power by sheriff John Mestas and his overzealous deputies in Costilla County, Colorado. The story points to multiple incidents in which law enforcement officers gave tickets to good drivers, attempted to kick in residents' doors without search warrants, and handcuffed or threatened at gunpoint children and elderly people. The reporter finds that the sheriff, a former owner of a liquor shop, has "vowed to clean up the town of San Luis," and has been inclined to overaggressive enforcement of DUI laws. A major finding is that some of the deputies have been dismissed by other agencies, or have had disciplinary problems related to undue aggressiveness.

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