Thread: Texas border officer sues over demotion

Aug. 10, 2007, 11:39PM
Texas border officer sues over demotion
He says he was unfairly demoted over 'potential' terrorist incident


By SUSAN CARROLL
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer is suing the federal government for $3.3 million, alleging discrimination after he was demoted in connection with an incident that allowed "a potential terrorist-related subject into the U.S." without a completed background check, according to court records.

Rolando Cano, who was a supervisory inspector at the Hidalgo port of entry before his demotion, filed a lawsuit in federal court in McAllen alleging he was subject to discrimination and harassment based on his age, gender and ethnicity — charges denied by U.S. officials. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Sept. 9.

In federal court filings, U.S. government attorneys argued that Cano was demoted from his supervisory position because of "negligent performance," citing a series of problems on the midnight shift on June 28, 2003, when he was on duty.

Lorenzo Tijerina, Cano's attorney, said his client was forced to "take the fall" for problems, while Cano's direct supervisor on the shift and the officers below him who allegedly committed the mistakes were not punished.

"If you're going to discipline, you have to do it across the board," Tijerina said.

According to court records, four "East Indian nationals" entered the U.S. from Mexico during the midnight to 8 a.m. shift and were detained, standard practice since the Department of Homeland Security designated India as a "Country of Interest." The officers notified the National Targeting Center (NTC), which conducts background checks related to possible terror suspects, according to the court records.


No connection to terrorism
In its motion to dismiss the lawsuit, DHS attorneys wrote that NTC was properly notified, "but before it had completed the background check, the travelers were allowed to leave the port and enter the United States," court records show. "In other words, by the time the NTC notified the bridge inspectors that one of the East Indian nationals was a potential terrorist-related subject, the inspectors had already released the individuals and they were in the United States."
The court records did not show what happened to the four people from India. A federal official familiar with the case said authorities later questioned the Indians and determined they had no connection to terrorism.

The U.S. attorney representing the government, David L. Guerra, declined comment.

On the same shift that the Indian nationals passed through the port, inspectors detained a man with an outstanding arrest warrant in California, according to the filing by U.S. government attorneys.

The court records state that "inspectors failed to properly secure the individual, who escaped from a port waiting room and escaped to Mexico."

During the same shift, a stolen vehicle slipped through the port, court records show. An officer suspected the vehicle might be stolen and directed the driver to pull into the secondary inspection area, for a more thorough review, court records show. But the vehicle then "managed to pass through the secondary inspection area and leave the port without being noticed by any DHS personnel," the attorneys for the U.S. government wrote.


Demotion in 2005
Cano was demoted to a non-supervisory position in 2005. The letter of demotion alleged Cano displayed "a complete lack of supervisory discretion and oversight." He appealed the demotion, but lost and filed the complaint in federal court in December 2006.
Tijerina said his client was subjected to "harassment and a hostile environment" because he filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after someone wrote on his locker that he was gay, and his complaints were ignored. Tijerina said Cano won the complaint, but on Friday could not provide documentation of the decision.

Tijerina said the basis of the complaint of gender, age and ethnicity discrimination is based on the fact that he was the only employee disciplined, while younger workers and women were not.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/met ... 45816.html

I don't wish to have anything said about our brave border patrolmen. This guy, however, sounds like the proverbial bad apple.

Maybe, or maybe he as really a really good BP agent ===