Fired U.S.
border officer alleges discrimination for being gay

A former U.S. border officer is suing the government, saying he was wrongly targeted for firing and criminal charges after an incident with a Chinese tourist at the U.S.-Canadian border.

Robert Rhodes was acquitted in 2005 of charges that he violated the tourist's civil rights by pushing her head into the pavement as several officers sought to control her after she ran from a checkpoint.

But instead of returning to work, the 17-year veteran of Customs and Border Protection was fired, he said. His lawyer said Rhodes was considered expendable because he had filed a federal complaint against his employer alleging unfair treatment because he is gay.

''I lost my home, my pension. No one will hire me. No one will even talk to me,'' Rhodes said Wednesday. His lawyer filed a pair of $25 million civil suits against the United States and three Homeland Security officers in U.S. District Court on Monday.

Rhodes says he was selectively prosecuted by the government under pressure from Chinese authorities, who expressed outrage over the July 2004 incident after news photos of a battered-looking Zhao Yan caught their attention.

While several officers were involved in Zhao's detention, only Rhodes was charged.

Rhodes's legal action also targets three CBP agents he said conspired to arrest him.

A spokesman for Customs and Border Protection, Kevin Corsaro, declined to comment on the Rhodes case, citing departmental policy that prohibits discussion of ongoing litigation.

During Rhodes's criminal trial, a federal prosecutor denied the allegations, saying Rhodes was charged almost immediately after the incident and before Chinese officials noticed.

Meanwhile, a $10 million civil suit filed by Zhao Yan against the United States is pending.

During the trial Zhao said she ran from the customs building because she was frightened by the border agents who beckoned her and two traveling companions inside. The agents were trying to determine whether the group had been traveling with a man found carrying drugs. (Carolyn Thompson, AP)