BORDER GUARD DID NOT USE EXCESSIVE FORCE ON CHINESE TOURIST, JURY FINDS

A U.S. Homeland Security officer was found not guilty yesterday of beating
a female Chinese tourist.

Jurors deliberated about five hours over two days before acquitting Robert
Rhodes, a Customs and Border Protection officer, of violating the civil
rights of Zhao Yan, 38, a businessperson from Tianjin, China, who was
touring Niagara Falls.

The case provoked anger in China after pictures of Zhao, her face swollen
from pepper spray and her eyes and forehead bruised, were widely published
after the incident last July.

Defence lawyer Steven Cohen accused the U.S. government yesterday of
prosecuting Rhodes to protect delicate U.S.-Chinese relations. Cohen said
Rhodes was an easy target because he was openly gay and had complained
about discrimination on the job.

Rhodes was not immediately available to comment because of concerns for his
safety. Cohen said he received a tip Saturday that Rhodes's life would be
in danger should he be cleared.

"The threat was if a not guilty (verdict) was reached, interested persons
would kill him upon emergence from the courthouse," Cohen said. "I don't
know if the threat had any credibility, but the marshals are taking it
seriously."

Zhao, who testified during the trial and is pursuing an $11.8- million
lawsuit against the U.S. government, was not in the courtroom for the verdict.

Government prosecutors claimed Rhodes used excessive force by slamming
Zhao's head into pavement and striking her with his knee after
pepper-spraying her at a Niagara Falls inspection station in July 2004.

Rhodes told investigators he believed Zhao and two companions might have
been associated with a drug suspect who had just been caught and that the
women ran when ordered inside. He said he followed proper Customs and
Border Protection procedure in subduing the struggling woman.

Cohen said he believed the jury was swayed by the testimony of two of
Rhodes's fellow border officers - who took the stand against him. Although
both were critical of the level of force Rhodes used, they indicated Zhao
was resisting arrest.

Also key, Cohen said, was medical evidence that showed Zhao sustained what
were considered minor injuries that included no fractures or broken bones.