A Guyana-born physician who was seized from a Philadelphia-bound jetliner last year by air marshals sued the U.S. government yesterday for distress and alleged racial profiling. Bob Rajcoomar, 55, of Lake Worth, Fla., a naturalized citizen of Guyanese Indian descent, was forcibly taken from his first-class seat on Delta Flight 442 after the jetliner landed in Philadelphia from Atlanta on Aug. 31. The former Army physician was held at the airport police lockup for several hours before being released without charge, while his wife was left alone in the airport and never told his whereabouts. The couple, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, filed suit after rejecting an informal settlement offer from the Transportation Security Administration. The TSA runs the federal air marshal service and became a branch of the Department of Homeland Security last month. “There was no apology and just a small amount of money, a pittance,” Rajcoomar said. “A settlement would have to include an apology… . The issue here is the pain and the destruction to my character, and no money can buy that back.” A TSA spokesman, Brian Turmail, declined to comment on the settlement offer or on the lawsuit. Full Story
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