{"id":611,"date":"2017-10-08T08:52:52","date_gmt":"2017-10-08T00:52:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/2017\/10\/08\/chinese-tourist-awarded-usd461000-over-brutal-beating-by-us\/"},"modified":"2025-01-05T16:17:36","modified_gmt":"2025-01-05T08:17:36","slug":"chinese-tourist-awarded-usd461000-over-brutal-beating-by-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/chinese-tourist-awarded-usd461000-over-brutal-beating-by-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese Tourist Awarded USD461,000 Over Brutal Beating By US"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p>A federal judge has ruled in favour of a Chinese <a target=\"_blank\" class=\"inside_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/tag\/business\/\" title=\"View all posts in business\" >business<\/a>woman who sued the US government after being injured during a 2004 confrontation with American border agents at Niagara Falls.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>A federal judge has ruled in favor of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/jobs\">Chinese businesswoman<\/a> who sued the US government after being injured during a 2004 confrontation with American border agents at Niagara Falls.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FjFpBGKb9n-Txdencf9B4ZHeL86K?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"a.png\" width=\"800\" height=\"450.98039215686276\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_73 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/chinese-tourist-awarded-usd461000-over-brutal-beating-by-us\/#Tianjin_businesswoman_Zhao_Yan_displays_the_injuries_she_received_at_the_hands_of_a_US_border_agent_in_2004_Photo_Xinhua\" title=\"Tianjin businesswoman Zhao Yan displays the injuries she received at the hands of a US border agent in 2004. Photo: Xinhua\">Tianjin businesswoman Zhao Yan displays the injuries she received at the hands of a US border agent in 2004. Photo: Xinhua<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/chinese-tourist-awarded-usd461000-over-brutal-beating-by-us\/#Customs_and_Border_Patrol_Officer_Robert_Rhodes_Photo_shanghaiist\" title=\"Customs and Border Patrol Officer Robert Rhodes Photo:shanghaiist\">Customs and Border Patrol Officer Robert Rhodes Photo:shanghaiist<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/chinese-tourist-awarded-usd461000-over-brutal-beating-by-us\/#Photo_nextshark\" title=\"Photo: nextshark\">Photo: nextshark<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tianjin_businesswoman_Zhao_Yan_displays_the_injuries_she_received_at_the_hands_of_a_US_border_agent_in_2004_Photo_Xinhua\"><\/span>Tianjin businesswoman Zhao Yan displays the injuries she received at the hands of a US border agent in 2004. Photo: Xinhua<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Following a non-jury trial in Rochester, New York, Judge Elizabeth Wolford awarded Zhao Yan US$461,000 for false arrest, medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost earnings. Her 2006 civil rights lawsuit sought US$10 million in damages.<\/p>\n<p>Wolford\u2019s ruling Monday found the government liable for US Customs and Border Protection Officer Robert Rhodes&#8217;s \u201cassault and battery and false arrest\u201d of Zhao at the Rainbow Bridge US-Canada border crossing in Niagara Falls.<\/p>\n<p>The judge found she was entitled to recover US$385,000 for past and future pain and suffering, US$64,000 in past medical expenses, US$1,800 in lost earnings, and US$10,000 for false arrest. She was never charged with anything.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FhzOzQlzjmE_AZmOonqMUBRa4SK6?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"b.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"507.5\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Customs_and_Border_Patrol_Officer_Robert_Rhodes_Photo_shanghaiist\"><\/span>Customs and Border Patrol Officer Robert Rhodes Photo:shanghaiist<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Rhodes initially was fired and criminally charged with violating Zhao\u2019s civil rights. He was acquitted at a 2005 trial and eventually reinstated to his job. A lawyer for Rhodes did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>A Tianjin business owner and piano teacher, Zhao had been in the United States on a business visa to study the <a target=\"_blank\" class=\"inside_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/tag\/market\/\" title=\"View all posts in market\" >market<\/a> for wood in Pennsylvania, court documents show. She was sightseeing as a tourist at Niagara Falls when the confrontation occurred.<\/p>\n<p>In charging Rhodes, government <a href=\"https:\/\/dictionary.cambridge.org\/dictionary\/english\/prosecutor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">prosecutors<\/a> claimed he used excessive force when he used pepper spray on Zhao, put his knee on her back and drove her head into the pavement. But during the 2015 civil trial, US authorities said Zhao\u2019s injuries were her own fault because she ran from the officer and then kicked, punched and scratched him before two other officers arrived and helped restrain her on the ground.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FpmqW6RXB5IySXmwgTE6HbixVEJm?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"c.png\" width=\"800\" height=\"407.5\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Photo_nextshark\"><\/span>Photo: nextshark<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr \/>\n<p>The then 38-year-old Zhao and two other women had run from the inspection station, instead of obeying officers\u2019 orders to come inside after they detained a drug suspect they thought may have been with the women. Zhao said she ran because the officers frightened her.<\/p>\n<p>In her lawsuit and accompanying court documents, she said the confrontation humiliated her and the mental and physical trauma she suffered left her unable to work and afraid of uniformed police.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis incident harmed almost all aspects of my life,\u201d she said in a court filing.<\/p>\n<p>Zhao\u2019s lawyers and the US Attorney\u2019s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FlXXlKXBxtykYAuKbjvAxKMwIbVH?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"\u5fae\u4fe1\u56fe\u7247_20170512163221.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A federal judge has ruled in favour of a Chinese businesswoman who sued the US government after being injured during a 2004 confrontation with American border agents at Niagara Falls. &#8230;","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[3681,1948,60,3680,306,29,34,1209],"class_list":["post-611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-000-over-brutal-beating-by-us","tag-business","tag-china","tag-chinese-tourist-awarded-usd461","tag-hiredchina","tag-jobs","tag-jobs-in-china","tag-market"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25892,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611\/revisions\/25892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}