WASHINGTON (AP) — Something went wrong at the security checkpoint at the VA hospital in El Paso, Texas, on a winter’s day in 2016. Seventy-year-old Jose Oliva, arriving for dental work, was put in a chokehold and thrown to the ground by federal police officers in an altercation that was caught on camera. But when Oliva tried to sue the three officers who were involved, a federal appeals court ruled he was out of luck. He’s asking the Supreme Court to revive his lawsuit and the justices could say what they’re going to do as early as Monday. The case puts before the justices the issue of suing law enforcement officers who used chokeholds and possibly excessive force at a time of national reckoning over police tactics and treatment of people of color.
Retired cop put in chokehold takes police case to high court
