Denver deputies on trial in preacher’s jail death

Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the civil trial of five Denver sheriff’s deputies accused of causing the death of a homeless street preacher in jail.

Marvin Booker died in 2010 after deputies shocked him with a Taser after he was handcuffed, put him in a sleeper hold and lay on top of him.

The FBI and the district attorney declined to pursue charges against the deputies, stirring public outrage. The rare civil trial comes amid calls for a federal investigation of the department over other abuse cases and after the largest jail-abuse settlement in the city’s history.