BUFFALO - A former Homeland Security officer is suing his old boss, the U.S. government, claiming he was wrongly fired and criminally charged after a run-in with a Chinese tourist at the northern border.

Robert Rhodes was acquitted in 2005 of charges 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 following the federal jury's verdict, the 17-year veteran of Customs and Border Protection said he was fired from his $70,000-a-year job.

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

“I'm here to make sure what happened to me doesn't happen to other agents,” Rhodes said.

What happened, Rhodes alleges, is that he was selectively prosecuted by the government under pressure from Chinese authorities who expressed outrage over the July 2004 incident at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls.

While several officers were involved in the detention of tourist Zhao Yan, only Rhodes was charged. His attorney said Rhodes was an easy “sacrifice,” considered expendable because he had filed an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint against his employer alleging unfair treatment because he is gay.