San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
RETIRED COP TAKES FORCE CASE TO SUPREME COURT
Veteran tried to sue officers who put him in a chokehold
Something went wrong at the security checkpoint at the VA hospital in El Paso, Texas, in 2016.
A 70-year-old man 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.
The man, Jose Oliva, left needing surgery on his shoulder and required treatment for his throat, eardrum and hand, on which he wore a gold watch he received when he retired after 25 years in federal law enforcement.
But when Oliva, who identifies himself as Mexican American, 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. The justices could announce a decision 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.
“I just think when I’m alone, letting my mind wander, how could this have happened to me, who served a year in the combat zone and then the rest of my life in law enforcement? How could this happen to me?” Oliva, now 76, said.
There is no sound to accompany the images from the day, but Oliva appears to be waiting in line to go through security and at no time physically resists the officers.
He said the trouble began when an officer asked him for his identification, which he indicated he already had put in a bin that was about to be scanned. Officer Mario Nivar approached Oliva with handcuffs at the ready. As soon as Oliva reached the metal detector, Navir grabbed him, applied a chokehold and wrestled Oliva to the ground. Two other officers helped.
Lawyers for two of the three officers described Oliva as obstinate in refusing to comply with repeated requests for identification and said the officers acted appropriately.
“Because at that point, he’s a potential threat. You don’t know what he is or what he’s carrying. His obstinate refusal is a concern to everyone. A 70-year-old man can handle a .45 pistol just as well as an 18-year-old,” said Louis Lopez, Hector Barahona’s lawyer.
Gabriel Perez, representing Mario Garcia, said the video lacks context, in part because there is no sound.
U.S. District Judge Frank Montalvo ruled that the lawsuit could go forward, noting that officers do not contend that Oliva resisted arrest.