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Wow, that sucks. I’ve been avoiding the US for the last 6 years or so as they seem to have gone all authoritarian weird. I think I’ll be keeping clear for at least another 6 years. Please put up somewhere to donate money for legal defense, I’ll at least send as much as I saved by downloading blindsight…

Insane, man…completely insane. If there’s anything we can do, please let us know.

Holy fucking shit man! That’s absolutely insane! I hope this blows over without anymore incident.

Was this picked up by any news media yet? I could not find anything on the web except blog entries.

I’ve seen this wild fucking nonsense at the border for years. I’ve never been treated as badly as that, though… I hate to say it, they have enormous power, these border guards.

How in heck did you manage?

Well people are getting the word out, and a lot of us are ready to support you if you need any help with legal fees, so don’t feel bad about asking for any!

I sincerely hope you get through this without too much further incident. Hopefully the DA will throw out the charges. Do you think you were in view of a border camera when all this happened?

PS – Were these Canadian or US guards?

Usually you have to be black to enjoy such indigniities. Peter, were you black that day? Tell me you weren’t black!

“I [got] out of the car to ask what was going on. I repeat[ed] that question when refused an answer and told to get back into the vehicle.”

So… why didn’t you just get back in your car? Could’ve avoided some extreme unpleasantness.

This is utterly horrifying. I hope you are as well as can be expected under the circumstances.

Wowza! I hope you heal up! Someone owes you a huge apology.

Miranda rights? Sounds like Americans.

I hope that you do NOT face time in prison for this. You’d think we’d learn something after the all the Iranian border incidents this year.

@mattan, i dont think canada operate with miranda rights (altho thanks to US cultural exports, even norwegian criminals thinks thats how it works in norway).

and to peter, while i am no lawyer, i suspect you should be careful about what you blog about this, as it would really surprise me if it do not get used in the court room (homeland security probably do not back down as easily as some phone company did in relation to some “celebrities” roaming charges)…

yet another reason for me to not visit USA any time soon, on top of me writing of airtravel until they stop pushing security theater on domestic flights in other nations…

Seriously?

*SERIOUSLY?!?*

That’s fucking insane…

Vile, just vile. You have my deepest sympathies. I hope this turns out as well as can be (well isn’t an option after this sort of attack).

Of course they were US guards, the Canadian ones are cuddly like teddybears.

I say this as a US citizen. Our guards are jackbooted thugs.

That’s horrible. I will spread the word about this.

As an American, I immediately assumed it was the US guards. The folks in Canada don’t seem to have degraded to quite this level of thuggish idiocy yet.

I wonder what they’re going to claim set them off, since they can hardly admit to just feeling like kicking the shit out of someone. They don’t even have the pitiful ass-covering of “driving while black” in this case.

Just when I think it might be possible to have an inkling of pride in my country again, this sort of…of…incident pops up.

Just sent a donation of $100 to your paypal for your legal defense.

Saw this blogged by several friends, donation sent

That’s frankly horrible. Just sent a pitifully small donation to your paypal as it’s all I can. Wishing you a speedy recovery, both physically and legally.

WTF? I read this on the FB updates of a couple of friends and felt like I’d drifted into an alternate reality. Wasn’t it just last summer at GP where we had the conversation about aggressive border guards?

Here via BoingBoing and a friend’s LJ. Have donated to the kibble defence fund.

Cash your way and more when my next paycheque clears. Fight this and win it, Peter. We’re rooting for you.

Best of luck in fighting this. I will send money shortly, to help with your defense, and also (as I am a Michigander) contact my elected representatives. I have also posted about this on my blog, in order to help publicize what has happened.

Sweet merciful crap, this makes me want to vomit with rage.

In spite of my anger, I can’t help but wonder if outraged platitudes are what you want to hear right now. Nevertheless, I hope that the message is clear; friends and fans of your writing care deeply about what’s happened to you. We’re here to support you in any way you need.

I reiterate Lila’s apologizes on behalf of my nation’s behavior towards you.

Ward makes a good point in that you should take care with anything more you post about this incident. Who know if it can be used against you. If that’s the case, just tell us.

Your good friend, Cory Doctorow has posted your story on BB. You can bet that a fair portion of the three million plus people that look at that blog each day are going to do what they can to support your cause.

If you’re ever in my neck of the woods again, I’m treating you to a bottomless pitcher of beer.

I’m a little confused about this. I don’t understand why American border guards would stop a car that is entering Canada. That is twhat the Canadian border guards are for. I would think that if they wanted to search his car it would fall under the same rules as a car search anywhere else in the country. Either they would need a warrant or probable cause.

Well, I’m very sorry to hear that. I cannot donate any money, but I hope everything will go smoothly and the charges will be dropped.

@maarken:
“Of course they were US guards, the Canadian ones are cuddly like teddybears”
Well, not always they aren’t… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Dzieka%C5%84ski_Taser_incident

I call that bullshit, but I’m sure you feel the same.

“Y’know” writes, “it appears that you disobeyed a lawful order to get back in your vehicle.”

And this justifies “punched in the face, pepper-sprayed, shit-kicked, handcuffed, thrown wet and half-naked into a holding cell …” etc etc etc, how exactly?

I cant believe you people are sending money to a guy who claims to have had this happen to him! Are you all so gullible? If thats the case I was raped by some cops in downtown detroit and they arrested me. Please send money!

The case is not yet visible on PACER. When it is, I will use RECAP to get the documents on archive.org and post the link here.

this is my worst nightmare. US customs/border patrol are the worst i’ve ever encountered, and that includes visits to highly conservative/religious countries such as Malaysia, and highly militarized countries such as Colombia. All the guards at international borders I’ve crossed have been polite and respectful, even if they were being cautious and thorough. Those traits are NOT mutually exclusive. I have never personally been assaulted by border guards, though I do feel like there is an excess of posturing and demeaning behaviour on the part of US border guards, and there are TOO MANY incidents like this for us to ignore the problem. Will be writing my member of parliament on your behalf.

good luck.

Hey Peter,

I’m very sorry to hear about this. It sounds very traumatic, but I hope you’re recovering alright. You seem pretty hardy, so I have faith. I hope for your sake something good comes from this, but I can’t help imagine that this happens more often than we like to think, only to people who don’t do anything about it.

Re: This Seems to be the Problem/O’Brien – While I to some extent agree that I would’ve just gotten back in the car, it is absolutely ludicrous that we have to live in such abject fear of border guards. I would’ve gotten back in the car because I just ASSUME they’re all power-abusive jackasses that are just hoping for an excuse to show off how tough they are. It’s completely ridiculous that one must make that assumption, and when someone is hurt because they didn’t make that assumption, somehow the victim is to blame. I would’ve gotten back into the car because I’m a coward, not because it’s the “right” thing to do.

Personally, I try not to travel to the states anymore, and I purposefully book flights that do not have stop-overs there, even if they take longer. While nothing has happened to me, the fact that if anything DOES occur I would have no rights and would be totally fucked is a pretty severe downside. All they have to say is “Terrorist” and it’s over. Goddamn terrifying. I think if something happened to me visiting most countries, I could count on my government for some support. But not so with the US…

Best, best wishes Peter. Isn’t there some saying about suffering being necessary for art? Surely you have a few more books in you now. 🙂

I’m thinking you’ve left some key details out.

I’m also thinking if you’d sat in your car and hummed some random showtune to yourself, you’d be bitchin’ about something other than this.

Peter, so sorry you got caught up with the jackbooted thugs who purport to protect us. I’m doing my part to spread the word and a donation is on the way – guess I won’t be standing you a round in Boston any time soon.

Hope you’re recovering well and don’t hold it against all Americans.

@Y’Know – you’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Disobeying a lawful order does not warrant that kind of treatment. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of this.

Mike O’Brien wrote “We’re all wringing our hands here like he’s some sort of victim who didn’t play a role in what happened. I think it’s high time that some people grow up.”

If growing up requires me to believe that what happened is normal or acceptable, I think I’ll pass.

That’s some really over the top, outrageous behavior on their part for sure and there’s no excuse for it. One the other hand there’s a time and a place for everything and when dealing with US law enforcement of any kind it’s best to just be really f@cking humble and mind your own business, keeping in mind that a lot of them are former military personnel who may or may not have some severe, untreated stress disorders going on. Others are just authoritarian pricks who wouldn’t have passed a psych exam if one had been administered to them. IMO it’s best to just humor them and obey everything they tell you to do (within the limits of the law of course).

With that being said, if they did indeed assault you I hope you nail their asses to the f@cking wall.

Peter, my god, I’m so sorry! Donation when I can. In the meantime, I’m spreading the word.

I also think the problem is that you got out of your car and mouthed off to the officers. That is not a winning tactic in dealing with US law enforcement. I have authority issues, too, but really, next time, sit still, be nice, and STFU.

You’ll have a better day (and probably not be facing felony assault charges).

This makes me weep for my country. As soon as I can, I’ll donate to your defense, Peter.

As an attorney, I second the person who advised you to photograph your injuries. I also second the advice that you be very careful about what you post, as anything you say in any forum can be used against you. If you need help in the US for a legal defense, you have a right to an attorney, but you might want to go further and contact an advocacy group such as the ACLU.

I’d lay even money that the charges will ultimately be dismissed, but please be careful for right now.

@Mike O’Brien – I don’t think it’s clear what happened until we actually hear more about what happened.

We are making an assumption that Peter did not do anything to deserve such treatment because of all the evidence we have about his quality of character. It is absolutely one’s right to ask why one is being detained, and as far as we know, that is all that happened.

Yes, it was a bad idea to get out of the car, but this is something which AFAIK is not nearly as much of a problem in Canada. Perhaps the automatic fear which many authority figures generate here in the States is not as well understood to Canadians, and thus it is far more understandable why one would make the poor choice of getting out of the car. Not to mention that these guards have been known to damage cars either accidentally or on purpose while searching them, and will deny it if you didn’t see them do it yourself.

I don’t think you are reading between the lines here, I think you are just someone who tends to side with the “authorities” having not had a bad experience with them. All of our statements about what happened are assumptions, and we cannot assert that they are absolutely true until we learn more.

Let us know what else we can do to help. I can donate more when the time comes. In the meantime, I’m sending a letter to the management goons of the goons that brutalized you asking for an explanation. Torontonians, maybe we should get a fundraiser happening?

(Commenter “Y’Know” (which you clearly don’t) you can get details here: http://www.checkpointusa.org/blog)

(Oh, and of course, http://www.flexyourrights.org/faq … )

I realize that ideally, rattling the cage over this issue would be helpful to Mr. Watts, but given that this is a Federal issue, and given the power and resources they have, I have some worry that it might backfire if done prematurely. The case MIGHT blow over more easily if it doesn’t turn into a situation where the Feds feel the need to ‘make an example’ of Mr. Watts, if they won’t back down BECAUSE everyone is making a huge issue out of it and they feel the need to save face by pursuing this relentlessly until they win. I agree police abuse IS a huge issue, but I think I’d prefer to see Mr. Watts free of all charges rather than risk that by using him as a platform for ‘police brutality’ protest before quieter means to help him are attempted first.

Although by now, I suppose my suggestions are moot, given the reach and intensity of the outraged citizens of the www.

I realize that ideally, rattling the cage over this issue would be helpful to Mr. Watts, but given that this is a Federal issue, and given the power and resources they have, I have some worry that it might backfire if done prematurely. The case MIGHT blow over more easily, charges dropped, if it doesn’t turn into a situation where the Feds feel the need to ‘make an example’ of Mr. Watts, if they won’t back down BECAUSE everyone is making a huge issue out of it and they feel the need to save face by pursuing this relentlessly until they win. I agree police abuse IS a huge issue, but I think I’d prefer to see Mr. Watts free of all charges rather than risk that by using him as a platform for ‘police brutality’ protest before quieter means to help him are attempted first.

Although by now, I suppose my suggestions are moot, given the reach and intensity of the outraged citizens of the www.

@Zoe

Thank you for pointing this out and providing relevant information.

The police often assume you don’t know your rights and will take advantage of that if they think they can get away with it. I know police officers whom I like very much, so I don’t enjoy speaking ill of them and I know not all officers are like this, but I have personally experienced officers ignoring peoples’ rights even after being explicitly told that they were breaking the very laws they were meant to uphold.

It’s sad that the “right” thing to do is to just bend over and take it so that you can avoid violence like this (or just prolonged harassment in most cases).

Luckily cameras are getting more and more ubiquitous so claims of assault on an officer can actually be validated.

I can’t comment on the legal issues, so I’ll just say I’m sorry to hear about what happened, and if I find some extra money, I’ll donate it.

Peter, I was very sorry and at the same time rather astounded when I’ve read what happened to you. I’ve already made a donation to contribute to your legal defense fund, I hope you’ll be able to hire a suitably competent legal representation and ensure that the American legal system will see justice prevail (ie. go medieval on the border guards’ asses).

Land of the Brave, Home of the Free, indeed.

The last time I went to the states (visiting family in Hawai’i with my son a coupla years ago) we were searched 3 X! Now I’m allergic to that border, and, it seems, rightly so. I reposted Cory’s post, and repeated the call for donations. Also sent one of my own.

@Peter – I am and everything I said still goes whether or not you were entering or exiting the United Sates (or any other nation for that matter). Just had an interesting conversation with a PIO at DHS. I’m not the only one asking for the paper work on this.

The can of worms is well and truly kicked over. What really happened will be forth coming soon from what I’m gathering.

@Zoe – Yes, in fact if a police officer gives you an order, you must follow it. If you fail to comply you risk immediate arrest for interference, failure to follow a lawful police order and anything else the officer can think up on the spur of the moment. This can be a matter of your own safety, officer safety, to protect a crime scene or maybe protection of someone else.

One example would be if a police officer tells you you cannot enter your city block. Never mind all those other police officers taking cover behind their cars, guns drawn. If you try to get around that officer taking both of you into the line of fire, you’ve risked both of your lives being stupid and you belong in a jail where you can’t endanger anyone else.

And not all situations are that obvious. Better you should go with the flow at the time and protest later.

If you don’t agree with the order, believing the officer is overstepping their bounds, the time to argue is later in the presence of the officer’s watch commander. Either that or file a civil suit. Your complaint will carry far more weight and do more toward fixing the problem if you are not facing charges at the time.

That comes under the heading of “live to fight another day.”

Good heavens, aren’t there a lot of lickspittle aspiring Stasi around here? And so fascinating how none of them have the moral courage to post under their own names when making baseless accusations of dishonesty against a respected author.

@Media – and if the officer orders you to get on your knees and suck his dick?

Sent money. Have no guns. How are you on lawyers? I’m sure my dad (ex-dean of a law school) or his friends (judges and other high legal muckity-mucks) know who might be best for this kind of thing.

Also posting, and sending a letter to my MP, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, though I think contacting media will have the best impact.

Hellgasts….

Am English lad I know suffered much the same. He’d done nothing wrong, but they’d just taken a dislike to him. Land of the Free? I think not.

@Media: Clearly reading in context isn’t your strong suit, nor is constitutional law.

You do NOT have to provide police offers with anything unless they have probable cause. You don’t have to speak to them, you don’t have to get out of the car (or back in), you don’t have to do thing one they say unless you are obstructing them in carrying out their lawful duties (ie: arresting somebody else, as in the example you cite, or stopping you from committing a crime).

So to be clear, their “lawful duties” do not include infringing upon YOUR rights, unless you are committing a crime or getting in the way of them stopping one – which Peter was not. A guy sitting in a car, or getting out of a car, do not interfere with police performing their duties (and anyway, these were border guards. But whatever).

In the case of a checkpoint there is not probable cause to suspect you of committing a crime – you are innocent, and doing them a favour by cooperating, but you DO NOT HAVE TO unless you are in very specific circumstances (like being at an actual border crossing), and even then you only have to do certain things, like let them search you.

The only other times you have to obey them is if they either a) have probable cause to search you, or b) they arrest you.

If you’re the state of the “media” today, no wonder the US is going to pot.

Of course, Peter was unfortunately in the “constitution-free zone”. Might want to avoid those in the future, though 2/3rds of the U.S. lives in them…

http://www.aclu.org/national-security_technology-and-liberty/are-you-living-constitution-free-zone

The comments in support of the police and criticizing Mr Watts would be more persuasive if the US Customs officials at the Canadian crossings didn’t have a well-earned and longstanding reputation for egregious abusive behavior.

When cops of any kind abuse, injure, or mistreat someone, it’s standard procedure for them to charge the victim with “assaulting an officer,” mainly so that later they can get any brutality charges against themselves (or lawsuits against their agency or city) dropped in a mutual deal; secondarily, so that when their actions are reviewed by their bosses they have paperwork to cover their asses and give their union something to use to protect them; and thirdly because it looks good on their arrest stats.

Hopefully Mr. Watts’s lawyer knows this and will proceed according to the well-worn path to dismissal.

I’m a US citizen and I’ve been insulted and harrassed by US Customs at the Detroit car crossing, at Toronto airport, and at the Maine crossing. In these instances, I did nothing belligerent or resistant and obeyed all directions. I’ve been asked questions about my bra size; I’ve been subjected to overtly racist remarks (when I was traveling with some Nigerian-American colleagues). I’ve been smirkily asked to share a joke with officers while they tossed the belongings of a nearby Hispanic family on the ground. I think it’s gotten worse since 9/11–the border officials seem to have been instructed as a matter of policy that being aggressive and insulting will somehow protect America. It goes along with the rise in abuse of immigrants by ICE, the secret jails for aliens, the home invasions. The customs officers at JFK airport are completely out of control at this point.

Jesus, Peter. Well wishes, etc.

Also twittered, Facebooked, and e-mailed. (Not sure I can rouster more support than Doctorow and Scalzi, but every little bit, right?)

But the main reason I’m commenting is this: I’d like to challenge any other US authors who have sold to Canadian magazines to donate a (roughly) equivalent amount to Peter’s defense.

And, yes, I’ve already done so.

Peter, I’m truly appalled. If there’s anything I can do to help you get through this, do let me know.

Signal boosted. Money sent — please use it however you see fit.

To those who say that Peter was asking for it (presumably by wearing that sort of dress in that part of town, huh?), as far as I’m concerned that level of force is absolutely unacceptable regardless of provocation short of Peter pulling out a gun and pointing it at them. Which I’m quite sure is not what happened. Hence, I think there’s more than enough data already to start taking sides.

Regardless of what Peter might have said, that is not an acceptable reaction. It is the job of law enforcement personnel to de-escalate conflict and deal with people who are not necessarily polite. It is also flatly unacceptable that anyone have to cringe submissively before anyone in a uniform. And it is completely unacceptable to use physical force except in response to physical force, and *even* in that case, with the substantial physical advantage on the side of an armed squad of border patrol agents, it is *mandatory* for them to use minimal force.

I will be contacting my Congressional representatives, as a US citizen, and making it abundantly clear that I consider this flatly unacceptable and illegal behavior on the part of my government and that I want them to be following this situation closely. I want to see a Congressional investigation of Homeland Security and the conduct of the US border patrol in situations like this, since Peter is far from the only person who has had this happen to him. They got unlucky and picked on someone who has a voice. That opens an opportunity to bring these practices to light and put a stop to it.

Dear Peter,

I’m appalled at what happened to you and wish you the best of luck in your defence against this ludicrous charge. A lot of people are rooting for you, and you will beat this. Much love. Maura

Did you have weed on you or something? I don’t doubt this is an injustice, but I have a hard time believing there was no provocation on your part.

Peter, can you explain what happened between you refusing to get back into your car (after you had asked them twice what was going on) and the physical response from them?

Crysis 2 is awsome

@Everybody inside US borders: Try to get out asap … if not a citizen of that great nation. If you are a citizen: try to make your fellow citizens aware of incidents like the one discussed here and hope that “change will come to America” (you can start right here with changing “America” to – no, not “The US”, but “USA”)
@Everybody outside: I would recommend to stay ouside. If you would like to spend some time in America can also do that outside of the USA. For example in Canada.
Why? I have been wondering … used to live there, even got my BA and MA there in the 90s, went back and forth from Europe frequently. I liked it – people were generally friendly, so I really would never have imagined then what I have written just now. Even entering (from Canada) in September 2001 was not too bad. However, after a short trip in 2005 where I definitely noticed that some kind of change had come to the country (and to far too many people) I decided to leave the US alone for whatever time people there need to understand / learn more about the world outside of their borders.
@Peter: this might be your chance to have a drink with B. Obama – I remember people get invited when they are treated the way it seems you have also been treated.
Disclaimer: Not related to P. Watts in any way (have read one novel, but it was not really what I had expected after reading some reviews); also not working for any Canadian tourism board,

The USA is actually one of the only countries in the world which requires people to stay in their cars when they get pulled over. I don’t know for certain, but I believe Canada is one of the countries which doesn’t have this requirement, so it’s much more understandable than some of my countrymen might think that Peter exited the vehicle. Maybe this can be brought up in trial? I don’t know.

The other issue is that the REASON the US is one of the few countries with that requirement is that so many officers die every year from complications during routine stops. Every cop that bullies you is scared shitless that you’re going to pull out a gun and end it for him, so he does everything he can to intimidate YOU out of pulling out your hypothetical gun. Which is terrible, because it leads to escalating desperation out of escalating fear– for both parties.

I’m sorry this happened to you.

Just another fucking intellectual who thinks he’s better than law enforcement. Enjoy jail

i’m kinda at a loss for words. donating a little something when i know what i can spare.

I have no idea what how this incident unfolded and have no intention of laying blame on anyone.
That said, anyone who is familiar with dealing with any sort of law enforcement agency in the USA, knows that if you are stopped in your car, you NEVER exit your vehicle, unless expressly asked to do so.
If Dr Watts got out of his vehicle without being instructed to do so, the US border guards will have taken that as a threatening gesture. If – IF – he was ordered to get back into his vehicle and he refused, then no-one should be surprised that the US border guards acted aggressively, and we can all argue till the cows come home at the proportionality of their response, but anyone with any common sense knows that these fellows are not to be fucked with, and that you should give them not the slightest excuse to fuck with you.
These are not your average Highway Patrol, these are Federal officers, with a wide degree of latitude and power. Do not try anything smart or provocative and you will almost certainly get through to where you are going in reasonably good shape.

Secondly, as to the issue of why US border guards are searching travellers EXITING the USA: I don’t know if anyone has noticed but Canada has become quite the narco-state and hotbed of organized crime. I’m a US citizen who lives in Vancouver and have to say that from the West Coast at least, law enforcement and the Canadian justice system have completely lost control of organized crime such that I suspect it has corrupted even the judiciary (how else do these maggots keep being let go?)
Over here on the BC WA border, people exiting the United States are subject to being stopped and questioned because the US Border agencies are aware that Canadian organized crime moves BC bud into the USA, and on the return trip, brings home cash, weapons and cocaine.

…and every time that cash, coke and guns goes through, it makes Canadian organized crime that much more profitable and powerful.
Just today there’s a story on one of these thugs who I’m happy to say has a good chance of languishing for a very long time is a US jail.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Secret+recordings+gang+leader+Clay+Roueche+life+caught+tape/2327292/story.html
If the Canadians were serious about border security, they would take the training and role of their border guards – who are unarmed and sometime include college students on summer break FFS – much more seriously, so that American law enforcement wouldn’t have to do their work for them.

leaveUSalone “@Peter: this might be your chance to have a drink with B. Obama – I remember people get invited when they are treated the way it seems you have also been treated.”

…Wow. Just…wow. Using this experience as a way to meet President Obama? As a way to gain instant “celebrity” status? ….that just smacks of opportunism. That’s disgusting.

Kind of (retardedly) contrary advice, right after you’ve advised non-US citizens to “stay away” from us.

If you’re convicted of something, for doing nothing, I will personally make sure the corrupt people who put you behind bars pay. Along with every other corrupt cop, judge, agent or person in a position of authority.

Apparently to the apologists, moving to maximum force for minimum insult is The American Law Enforcement Way. Elizabeth, above, had one of the only rational responses on this side. But as someone who since 1994 has served as a community member of a law enforcement civilian oversight committee, the assault and overreaction is not acceptable. In the USA as well as Canada. No matter how chippy the innocent civilian might get. Blaming the victim, as Sylvia points out, is stupid.

People need to remember a couple of basic things about the basis for the US and Canadian legal code: the first, of course, is innocent until proven guilty. Which means you don’t assume a Canadian who gets out of his car and asks what’s up is worthy of max-force assault and arrest. (Neither, as pointed out above, though I will note the offenders were not border cops but RCMP, is a Polish immigrant with low blood sugar and a serious case of confusion, but that’s another story.)

There is also in most law enforcement agencies in the US and Canada a policy of reacting with minimum necessary response. When that policy is exceeded, the officers involved are wrong.

Border cops especially should understand that, given that the people they meet are not all US nationals who might know all the ins and outs of what being treated as a dangerous offender is about in the US.

Oh, dammit, why am I trying to argue with any of you apologists? Peter, I’m sorry you had to go through this, and a small amount of kibble is coming your way. All the best, and wish I could do more.

Also I hope the media attention makes someone come to their senses. I hope that the US media are also being alerted to this, as well as the Canadian media and government. And Peter, I hope you also have a lawyer in Toronto who is ready to do some legal butt-kicking.

Made a facebook support group.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=348936790393

Threw in some extra money for the Kibble Fund. Mostly because this kind of treatment is an outrage but partly to watch your brain explode.

I know how freaked out you get at altruism. It will be fun to watch you explain why people with no genetic relation to you are sending resources that could be used to attract mates for themselves.

so incredibly sorry to hear this. sadly many other stories like this go unreported. making matters worse is that the general public is either immune or indifferent to the stream of outrageous police stories. i live in the states, where i tell people, “you won’t understand until it happens to you, which i pray doesn’t” sorry for your troubles.

Nosiwoda@The Dziekanski incident to which you refer had nothing to do with border guards. Dziekanski had already been admitted to Canada. He got confused and frustrated just inside the exit from the customs area, started acting strangely, and when the police arrived, was tasered and died. The behavior of the police was quite unjustified, but they were not border guards and they were not dealing with border-crossing issues.

Hm, sounds like posting a sob story with no real evidence is a good way to get a boatload of money “donated” to you.

I think I see a business plan in all this…

This happends when you live in a 3rd world country ruled by dictatorship.
Wait, where was this incident? In the US?, oooops

I hope you are all ok, just give some time to heal and forgot about the incident. This happends all the time in all mayor US borders. Sorry but it is true.

you know theirs always a little more to the story, it would be interesting to compare note/paperwork in account to the incident. You know it may be funny if the agents were ext ream fans attempting to get advanced copies of your work.

Oh, this sucks immensely.

I’ve donated a little, and can only hope that the exposure helps both avoid this kind of thing in future, plus convinces publishers you’re worth as much as we all know you are.

Really upset to see this happen to you. Will keep my fingers crossed for a good outcome. Hope it all works out.

The treatment and violence offered to Mr. Watts was clearly unacceptable.

I am unclear on where this incident took place. According to Zoe above it wasn’t at the actual border crossing but at a homeland security ‘internal checkpoint’, in which case Mr. Watts was under no obligation to agree to a search of his vehicle (as spelled out by a representative of the border authority itself, link below). However, the Times Herald report indicates that it did actually take place at the border crossing point, where unprovoked and random stop and searches are, although dubious, apparently legal. I imagine that the border crossing point would be covered in security cameras which might prove useful in this case.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2008/10/aclu-assails-10/

Anyone defending the police in any way here deserves cancer. That is all.

Hi, Elizabeth. I’m another Elizabeth too.

re: cops and guards – I know that if they make a mistake, they can pay for it with their lives. I ALSO know that if they make a mistake, other people–innocent people–can also pay with their lives. Or as could turn out in this case, their livelihood and two years. I hope it won’t go that far, but if the procedures that border patrols and cops follow endanger innocent people, we should certainly look into changing that. If that’s what you are arguing, and I think you are, I can stand by that. Change the system, make it better.

But in the meantime, Peter shouldn’t have been beaten up because he didn’t seem intimidated or because he questioned why he was being detained.

I don’t get it… the middle of this story is sort of missing… why did the border folk start freaking out on you?

PixelFish, we’re saying the same thing. Basically, my point was, it’s more nuanced than all authority figures are jerkwads, but there’s still no excuse for what happened to Peter.

Why the fuck were you so stupid to get out of your car and not get back in when asked to? God damn you’re an idiot.

My sympathies and best wishes for a speedy dismissal of the charges.

Whatever happened in this universe (or any other timeline) the important aspect at this point is the charges levied against you. Provoked/unprovoked, sane/insane, whatever level the behavior of the agents involved was can be debated by others. I simply hope that you can find an attorney who can get the charges dropped with the first motion. A lengthy, soul-sucking, expensive, time-consuming legal battle will not undo what has been done to you. Nor will it likely stop others from enduring the same. Yes, there’s the “principle of the thing” but no one ever really wants to be the legal precedent. Being the legal precedent means you’re the guy who had to endure years of lawsuits.

Best of luck to you.

While the following two articles from Homeland Security Watch (one report and a followup) pertain specifically to TSA procedure in airports, I find the observations made by the author to be extremely telling, and relevant to this discussion:

http://www.hlswatch.com/2009/10/15/%E2%80%9Cdo-i-have-the-right-to-refuse-this-search%E2%80%9D/

http://www.hlswatch.com/2009/11/10/where-are-all-the-white-guys-update-on-do-i-have-the-right-to-refuse-this-search/

The author points out that what we have *permitted* security personnel to do does not necessarily match, in any way, what we *need* them to do, with the very dangerous result that security personnel have been allowed to forget what the actual nature of their job is. She details a lack of training in proper search method, data-gathering procedure, and – most relevant here, I think – training the staff AND citizens to understand the citizens’ rights during the search, including the right to refuse a search at all.

If someone knowledgeable could let us all know how much of TSA policy applies to border patrol officers – as both are part of Homeland Security – I would be grateful.

But I’m pretty sure the right to ask what the HELL is going on, is still permitted by law. And that beating a tourist on the way back to his home country, for daring to ask that question, is still prohibited.

Also, a police report read to Port Huron Times Herald states that you were entering the US at the time of the search, contrary to published reports on the Web that have you entering Canada at the time. Perhaps you can clarify?

http://www.thetimesherald.com/article/20091211/NEWS01/91211010/1002/Science+fiction+writer+charged+after+bridge+struggle

Here via commodorified–have donated to the kibble fund for your legal defense.

Sadly , Guards on both sides of the bridge can get rather nasty , I drove cab in this area for a number of years and have had run ins on both sides. Sadly , this has made me refuse to cross the border anymore ,i no longer get to visit with our great canadian neighbors or spend time in their beautiful country.

I used to have some basic LE roles during my time in the military. There is obviously a lot missing here, but if you physically went after one of the agents, they were following standard textbook procedure. Once they feel their safety is in danger, they will respond with the appropriate force to ensure their own safety, and get control of the situation.

LE agents aren’t looking to pepper spray random people, that’s not the stuff they “live” for. I hope the truth comes into light, but your posting is very one sides (as can be expected). People here are posting as if that is the only side to the story. But this is the appropriate response from law enforcement if they are assaulted by someone who is unarmed.

I hope the truth does come out, and if the border agents were out of line, I hope they are disciplined accordingly. But if you were the one that started assaulting them, you should have realized at the time that was going to be a losing battle, and not many people will feel sympathy for someone that assaulted an officer, and in turn got sprayed and arrested/detained.

I think most of us get that police work involves some stress, contrary to what the apologists for authority would try to pretend to believe. What I don’t get is why these same apologists have a great deal of difficulty ever finding examples where the officers involved were wrong in behaving the way they did, and then apologizing for their actions to the victim.

Never happens, does it? I’ve actually seen this defended as being contrary to good policing – apparently admitting that you are wrong and taking various hits for it, financial and otherwise, would just encourage more criminal behaviour elsewhere.

maybe next time you’ll shut the fuck up and do what you’re told. Maybe………

Don’t believe it…. attention whore

That’s terrible, man. Best of luck in getting this all sorted out. Whatever you do, don’t stay silent and don’t back down. The world (especially Americans) need to hear your story.

Seems to me that this is Mr. Watts’s own web site. To those who are asserting facts not in evidence, that he somehow provoked the situation, why bother saying so? Mr. Watts was there, he knows what happened, and you’re not likely to persuade him that he did something he didn’t.

And to those who think that citizens of friendly countries should just stay on their sides of the border, well, that would be extraordinarily bad for anyone who works in a tourist industry. (I had a Michigan Coney dog in Port Huron when I crossed there last month.) And in free societies, the government is just an administrative bureaucracy we have to deal with from time to time, not the defining principle of our lives. I happen to live in Toronto and have family and friends in Montreal, southeast Michigan, upstate New York, Chicagoland, Seattle, Vancouver, and parts of Iowa; the fact that some of these places happen to be in the “USA” or “Canada” has nothing to do with why I would go there. Just like taxes, customs is something we deal with from time to time. Tyrannies in the past have been overthrown, peacefully or otherwise, when they infringed too much in the lives of their people; today’s civil servants, including law enforcement, sometimes need to be reminded that they work for the people, not against them.

As someone who gets stopped and searched all the time because I fit a profile, I can tell you that your first mistake was getting out of the car. They overreacted but clearly interpreted what you did as a threat. It doesn’t matter what your rights are — or especially what they *ought* to be — they have the guns and the law on their side.

Hey Peter.

Sorry that this happened to you. Sent $, boosted transmission. Hope things work out.

Please file criminal charges against those who assaulted. you. I don’t want such criminals working for my government.

– enraged U.S. citizen

Reading all the comments is almost as aggravating as reading the original post. Oy.

Color me moderate – Did you do the smartest thing? Probably not. Did you do the right thing? I have no idea. Did you deserve the treatment you got in response? Abso-fucking-lutely NOT.

I don’t have money to give, I’m afraid, though I do recognize you as an honored member of the greater Fannish community, and thus worthy of some trust in this area.

I will, however, do my bit to say “WTF?!” to our (that is, the USA) government. Unfortunately, as some folks may have pointed out, our government is not a single body (and none can be on this scale, alas). What one bit says is wrong, another bit does without immediate consequence. At least we can hope to make it NOT no consequence at all.

–Ember–

I left the USA about 3 months ago. I am not surprised that something like that would happen. That is just the beginning. I advise others to be careful. If I ever leave where I am now, I will see if Canada will take me in.

I must say as one who is a US citizen, I am sorry that our public servants are mindless fuck holes with nothing better to do but over theorize there own mindless self indulgences of terrorist attacks and wompy bullshit of the like! Just like most if not all law enforcement in the united states, they all think because they have guns and a badge, that the can get 6 or so of there but pirate cop buddies and beat the shit out of anyone they want and frame them for it.

It’s just another day in the good ol’ U.S. of A. I’m sorry that you had to experience that. And trust me, if your poor, your more of a target. If you have proof and the funds to do so, sue them all for a discussing amount of money.

As one who has enjoyed the hospitality of US border guards, my heart goes out to you. People who have never been trapped at a border do not understand what it is like. These places are mo-man’s lands where the usual laws do not apply. You would be lucky if lawyer-client privilege will be respected at the border, one of the most fundamental rights. The broad powers of border guards means every person crossing is vulnerable. I was held for 6 hours and questioned twice about my political associations. Eventually I was refused entry, but nothing could have made me happier. One of the greatest moments of my life was getting back home. I will never enter the Police State of America.

Sounds like you made a bad call here. There are always two sides to a story, and the police report has you choking one of the officers. Why on Earth would you get out of your car when officers with guns are telling you to get back in. Sounds like you were the idiot here…

This chain of comments is precisely why we have courts of law. I have no way of knowing what happened from this story. Did you antagonize the border guards, who live their lives in the constant threat of mortal danger appearing from nowhere? If so, I can only presume that men with families to go home to responded appropriately and I am sorry my country is going to have to spend more tax dollars on locking you up for 2 years.

Being a Windsor born Canadian, I am familiar with the winter snow storms and the various border issues and the leaking corruption of America, i at least know how ineffectual police are most of the time, i say most of the time because there are times when they do manage to do there jobs and protect people, i say most of the time because they can’t be everywhere at once to catch every criminal. Its the reason why i went and learned TSD, i was taught by ex-military that was training to be a police officer or rcmp, and we went over things such as police use of force, and pepper spray shouldn’t have come out unless Peter had pulled a knife or a gun, and they shouldn’t have touched Peter till he had shown aggression that was going to escalate to violence, instead they beat him and pepper sprayed him for asking “whats going on?”.

Asking questions is not a crime,
how who what where and why,
guilty? maybe, maybe not, but a court date is in order!

Peter best of luck with the lawsuit, hopefully the surveillance tapes will make quick work of things, and hopefully we can see a book come out of this dealing with totalitarian states =).

The people shouldn’t fear its government, the government should fear its people.

I am very sad this has happened to you, Peter, and wish you well in dealing with the rest of this sordid affair.

Crap that’s awful. I’m sorry you had to go through that. I’ll contribute to your legal fund and hope you avoid any further shit from this. Guess I’ll be coming to Tronnneau to buy you those beers.

Sorry, but I don’t believe you. Because you exaggerate the description, and because you don’t offer any alternative reason why they have targeted you in this way, I just don’t believe you. You’d need much more credibility, but your blog and site are predominantly complaints and you set an angry, unreasonable tone throughout. Please don’t besmirch the US unnecessarily. Surely it has problems, but as someone who has crossed the border and who himself has been detained, this seems unbelievable without further confirmation.

Freddy

Please, put in a request with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that these guards be tested for use of steroids. Beating up civilians has been something of a plague inside America. The situation coincides with outfits such as Gold’s Gym popping up all over the place, then the patrons using steroids and HGF to achieve proportions similar to professional wrestlers. This attack on you reads similar to the Chris Benoit catastrophe in 2007. Cops are using the same drugs. These leaps over into irrational violence are all of a similar pattern. DHS will respond to official Canadian correspondence; please go through your government and stress the irrational over-the-top behavior of those officers. Roid Rage is a plague, a major contributor to America’s high level of violence. Thank you.

This story just doesn’t pass the smell test…”Peter, a Canadian citizen, was on his way back to Canada after helping a friend move house to Nebraska over the weekend.” If you were on the way back to Canada you don’t encounter the U.S. Boarder patrol, only the Canadian border guards. Now perhaps the story was wrong and Peter was going the other way into the U.S. While some U.S. boarder guards do have a thuggish attitude (like many cops do), they don’t just go rogue for no particular reason. I suspect Peter got mouthy and failed to follow instructions and things escalated and he got stupid. I’ve crossed the Canadian/U.S. boarder around 15 times this year, on two of those crossings I encountered some bad attitudes by boarder guards but if you simply follow their instructions, you have no problems. Peter is a fiction writer, not a journalist, we are not getting the whole story here folks.

Mistake #1: Getting out of the car
Mistake #2: Not immediately getting back into the car

People forget the distinction between assault and battery. It’s only battery when you attack somebody. The guard can say he “felt threatened” and then it’s up to judge and jury to rule on your assault _of_ the agent and whether the agent is guilty of battery in return or used “reasonable force.” . I can guess how the latter will turn out.

Not a lawyer, just playing one — but those are the distinctions I’ve read about.

It’s called fascism, and it’s spreading.

I think you’re dealing with assault and attempted murder here – throwing you out without the smallest protection from the weather in itself is enough cause to go legal. However, I do recommend that you commit the exact details of the incident to paper as soon as possible – memory fades and teh details may be important. See if you can recall a badge number, describe a face (maybe get some help and get an impression drawn of the respective officer’s face – do NOT publish it but add it to the legal case).

Customs is a black hole when it comes to law enforcement and human rights – this could be a good start to clean that up because for the 10 idiots in that profession there are hundreds *without* ego problems – you don’t notice those because your passage just happens.

Well son of a bitch. This is the last thing our hole of a town Port Huron needed right now. I’m so sorry this happened to you, but I cannot say I’m surprised. The Border Patrol at the Blue Water Bridge is Trash. *Sigh* I hope you get them sir.

It is, to me at least, who threw bricks on the Boston Commons in the 60s, very sketchy. Difficult to obtain the a clear picture here, and unremarkable that such a massive majority are ready to believe without further inquiry that crossing into Canada, will get you beaten by US border patrol. (Maybe there is some confusion in the record, on that matter) I find that the intellectual prowess and social awareness of the population, at large, is on the decline. You don’t EVER put your hands on a police officer, of any kind, even if he’s guarding the public library, and expect it to work out well. Whatever, happened, good luck – but seriously, becoming a big mouthed beacon of liberties in the middle of a snowstorm, at the borders of a nation that is having some security issues, is not bright. If you want to spontaneously demonstrate and cross borders without much significance, try Europe (maybe).

damn, sometimes i dont want to be an american anymore! umm for those of you who dont know : obama is preparing for civil war. hes asked the head of USNORTHCOMM for an additional 1 milliom more troops on US soil to combat an “aggressive 220 million who are armed to the teeth.” (www.infowars.com / subject heading Obama preparing for civil war?)

DON’T FORGET JEWS GOT WORSE VISITING GERMANY. USA ISN’T HALF AS BAD AS GERMANY.

As an American, I would like to apologize. I’ve noticed the trend of belligerent law enforcement over the last 15+ years. It began in the Clinton years, when the militarization of law enf really began in earnest (100k new cops program). Many of my retired friends (former cops, highway patrol) have expressed the same level of disgust at these ‘new public servants’. It’s only going to get worse. Archimedes (ancient Greek engineer) was killed by Two roman guards for giving them lip when the Romans came to his shores on an island in the med. Hence, I am seeing a general level of disciplined brutality not seen since then. Fortunately, the California Highway patrol has a culture that is still people friendly. Not so with most local cops.

He wasn’t asked to lick their boots, for all the poetic hyperbole. He was asked, we are told, to get back in the car. You drive on the opposite side of the road, with respect to other commonwealth countries, too.. but that happened to be the requirement of the day. Some make the sophomoric point that” you don’t have to do what you are told”, but the question will be asked, “To what degree is the failure to cooperate with law enforcement efforts simply antisocial in nature, and pointless?” I hope it goes easy for you, but disagree strongly with the assertion that this is a case of being required to question authority. Go to Times Square and question the authority of the traffic lights, or demand to go to the front of the line at Buckingham Palace.

Y’know – typical response from a LEO. You see any questioning of your aurthority as an assault and respond violently. Most people who want to be law enforcment officers should automatically excluded from the position. They have chips on their shoulders, and were either picked on by bullies as children and want to pay back the world, or were/are bullies themselves and want a license to be one.

It has nothing to do with not being an American citizen. I was on a trip to Waterton two years ago, and when coming back into the states after my visit, I was one of the “random” vehicles pulled over to the side for further “questioning”.

Upon looking into my vehicle I was literally given HELL for having a pillbox with aspirin in it, and while you could plainly see the Bayer mark on it, I was treated like I was smuggling prescription drugs over the border. Apparently, this was a “good enough” reason to search my vehicle, dump my bags, and even question my legitimate US prescription to Zoloft, and make sure my husbands loose tobacco was actual tobacco, and not pot – which any moron on the planet can tell the effing difference between. We were interrogated beyond measure, asked about our entire history, where we went to school, who our parents were, and other very personal and embarrassing questions that were none of their damn business, let along anything that would contribute to their “investigation” of us.

Three hours and over thirty minutes later they were finished with us, after looking through the photos on my camera, patting us down, and other embarrassing things. It took me another 30 minutes to put the baggage back together, which they made me shove everything back in the car and “move along” – forcing me to pull over further up the road to straighten things out again. Funny thing is, a very nice bracelet I purchased on the trip was lost in the mess. Whether they stole it or not, or it got left behind, I have no idea. It was not worth the hassle.

Border patrol agents, while a necessity in any country, have every right to do what they do, but what they DO NOT have the right to do is treat people worse than you would a rabid dog. I am so sorry that this happened to you, and it makes the particular situation I faced – which upset me greatly – seem like a friendly chat over coffee in comparison. There is a difference between being an enforcer of the law and thinking you are above the law ad have every right to do what you feel just because of your badge or position. Our country is becoming a police state more and more, and it’s high time people stopped taking it lying down. I don’t know what I can do for you personally, but know that the majority of Americans (outside of the extremists) do not support this type of behavior from our law enforcement agencies, nor do we condone beating, harassing or treating our neighbors like pieces of garbage. Best of luck to you. I hope like hell you beat this.

Sounds like what we were told happened in S. Hussein’s Iraq. A fascist state where people in powerful positions can do and get away with whatever they like, invent trumped up charges and so on. Just a matter of how you play the game. Call it democracy and Land of the free and it’s ok.

@Bill Poser: if that’s so, I’m sorry, I was misinformed.

For whoever is interested in going to Michigan to protest, I’m volunteering to be the contact point for US caravans, particularly ones going North from or through SW Ohio.

No event is scheduled at this time, but, if you would like to stay informed of events or be included in carpooling, send me an email at

peterwattscaravan@yahoo.com

Feel free to post the above email address and its purpose (coordinating US protest caravans) far and wide.

Please be open to altering events based on requests for prudence from Dr. Watts’s legal team.

,Dora P.

Well, I had my own police experience a couple of years ago. I don’t think that there’s much ground to cover, but I’ll offer some observations.

First, despite what illiterate hacks like ‘Media’ say, there is no general legal duty to obey the orders of a police officer or any other officer of the law. There is, for instance, no duty when walking down the street to stop at an officers demand or to provide your name. Shocking, isn’t it. A police officer may not detain a person, except for probable cause that the person has committed or is witness to an offence. The truth of the matter is that police are in the habit of exceeding their lawful authority on a regular basis, relying on combination of ignorance and intimidation.

In this case, they may have been within their legal rights to order Peter Watts to remain in his vehicle during the car search. If this is the case, it is not some general nebulous airy fairy part of ‘police superpower’. Rather, it is a specific authority spelled out in legislation or regulation.

While ignorance of the law is not a defense to breaking the law. Peter is still within his right to inquire as to the statutory authority. He had a right to be told what was going on.

So much for theory. In a practical sense, there is something very wrong with the American approach to law enforcement. The overall policy or practice of American and increasingly Canadian law enforcement is to escalate confrontations dramatically at any sign of resistance.

Officers often escalate on issues of ‘respect.’ ie, if a civilian is not sufficiently obedient or aquiescent, this is seen as a challenge to the officer’s authority, and is met with an immediate escalation. There is no legal duty to ‘respect’ a police officer. However, there is a long history of officer’s escalating, often proceeding directly to violence in response to the officer’s own psychological perception of lack of respect or disrespect. This is just a fact.

American culture for the last 50 years in film and television have lionized police and provided cultural license for their right to employ violence. The ‘cop who doesn’t play by the rules but gets the job done’ is a cultural staple. At the same time, there has been an expansion of police powers, police weaponry and a militarisation of police tactics.

Perhaps for this reason, America has essentially turned into a police state, with all the negative connotations associated with that truth.

In regards to the commenter who observed that there were many good cops. I’m sure there are. But 50% of police, by definition, are below average. And 20% are significantly below average. This isn’t disparagement, but simple acknowledgement of a curve.

Good police officers may experience substantial stress and intimidation and have worries about a hostile civilian population. Unfortunately, much as I sympathize with them as people, they are still products and parts of a system which creates that hostility and intimidation. One could imagine that there were decent and humane Khmer Rouge prison camp guards. That doesn’t change the overall horror.

Instead, we’re left with the bell curve, and the knowledge that we have a fifty fifty chance of dealing with an officer of less than average competence. That we have a one in three chance of dealing with a bad officer, a one in ten chance of dealing with a bottom of the barrel scumbag, and a one in twenty chance of dealing with an out and out monster.

So, we buy our ticket and take our chances. But odds are, in many situations, it’s going to be tense and unanticipated. And a one in three, or ten, or twenty chance that we may end up getting assaulted, pepper sprayed, arrested or shot is a real concern.

So when you see that badge coming towards you, what do you do?

Checkpoints Near the Border
Be aware that DHS agents have recently set up constitutionally-questionable “security checkpoints” up to 100 miles inside U.S. territory. If you should drive into one of these roadblocks, you are not required to answer the agent’s questions (usually starting with “Are you a United States citizen?”). Nor are you required to consent to any searches.

thats probably what he ran into, considering he was leaving the states

> For whatever reason Canadians aren’t raised to instinctively fear law enforcement officers.

I’ll agree to that. There’s still bad cops, but it’s not part and parcel of a whole culture of violence and intimidation. But I refuse to believe that he put up any serious struggle on the theory that he’s not a complete and total moron.

Another fifty to the kibble fund.

Had several happy holiday road-trips in the US in my 20’s, the best being our honeymoon in New England. Loved the scenery and found most everyone friendly. But a black cloud has descended since the USA’s extreme over-reaction to 9-11 — it’s no longer a country we wish to visit or have anything to do with. We actively avoid the place even if we have to pay more for airline tickets.

USA: Land of the fearful, home of jack-booted thugs.

Donation made to the kibble fund, but please use it for lawyers and fight.

All you crazy mother fuckers out there must be smoking some of that good BC Bud! Thinking this asshole did nothing to attract attention to himself or to be singled out.
First get your facts straight, the agents at the border are NOT Border Patrol! Border Patroil doesn’t work at a Port of Entry, the work in between ports of entries. This asshole you’re all so worrried about did not comply with the instructions given to him. When I go to Canada, I respect your laws and your officers working your border. If Mr. Asshole had gotten out of his vehicle, answered their questions, none of this would be happening. None of you were there except the asshole and you’re all taking his word that for no reason, after 10,000 cars a day are going through and being inspected, and nobody but him were assaulted by the Customs agents. Duhhhhhh you dumb mother fuckers, I can see your national pride and sticking up for your country, but did it ever occur to you that this asshole just didn’t want to go along with the program and paid the price. Wheather he got his ass kicked or not, depends on how he reacted when they realized they had an asshole on their hands.
Whatever your personal feelings are about the USA, I could give a shit.
Believe it or not, all the assholes aren’t just from one country, every country has their assholes. And an asshole from your country got called out and now he wants to cry to everybody because they didn’t take any shit from him. Fuck him, I hope he froze his ass off walking back home.

First of all, the question has to be asked, why on earth would the border policeman beat someone up for no reason? I really think there’s a lot of creative writing going on here.

I happen to be a creative artist myself, and a minority, and I have never been anything but exceedingly polite to the border officers on both sides of our border with Canada, and in the many countries I have visited, and I have never, ever once had a single problem with any of them.

And I have the common sense to know that you never, ever get out of a car without being specifically asked by the officer.

Just amazing. We’ve got “Bob” who’s so hateful I’m ashamed to admit I’m from the same country as him. I wrote to my representative and asked him to look into the matter. Since he’s black then perhaps someone getting mistreated will be a concern for him. I’m not holding my breath though given my past experience. It’s no wonder we get terrorists if this is how we Americans act.

Welcome to the Land of Hope and Change!

Dr. Watts, I am shamed that you were treated so. I hope it all goes the right way for you.

Wrong place, wrong time I think. It’s pretty unusual for American C&I to stop somebody on the way to the Canadian side of the border. The usual routine is you stop at the Canadian side and deal w/Canadians. They must have been looking for somebody. Maybe on that gig all day long and sick of it, sick of taking shit from everybody. If I listen closely, I can almost hear them talking about it – “the next son of a bitch that won’t get back in the car is gonna get it, I swear, I’m sick of this shit”, and then the next son of a bitch got it. It doesn’t excuse them, but it almost had to be a situation like that.

Remember, if you are not on a first name basis with the cop, border official or whatever, he does not know you are not dangerous, in fact, he is trained to assume you are. Listen to him – and shut up.

I’m routinely ashamed that this is a country that soldiers die defending.

This is nothing new: http://freedominourtime.blogspot.com/2009/12/thin-blue-whine-pt-i-petulant-police.html

Or, check out this map: http://www.cato.org/raidmap/index.php

These fascists need to be stopped, now.

I am not sure of the situation behind why you were detained. I may have something to do with it. I am willing to help testify to certain information that may help keep you free.

Contact me at

ms_fatalefemme@yahoo.com

Best of Luck,

It is tragic how it takes an incident like this to get people to pop their head up. Now the people who have popped their head up will expect SOMEONE ELSE to fix it, when they are perfectly capable. Too bad you don’t know who you really are.

The border “gaurds” have no power or authority UNTIL you VOLUNTEER IT.

I know, you are going to say I am nuts. Let me ask you this, next time you try to “cross the border” tell them you are going to the LAND KNOWN AS XXXX, and see what happens…. I can tell you from personal experience they only have jurisdiction and the ability to “do something” if you VOLUNTEER to go to the CORPORATION. They have nothing and can not impede your ability to travel when you tell them you are going to the land known as xxxx.

What gets even better, you think i am full of shit. But am I really? Why don’t you check out Marc Stevens at http://www.marcstevens.net who promotes a voluntary society where you are not forced at gunpoint to do business.

It is tragic that you were harmed, and there is remedy. Using the court system to go after “one of their own” with “one of their own – a lawyer”… to be adjudicated by “one of their own – a judge appointed by the federal (or state) government”.

Really, tell me this is NOT collusion and racketeering.

To the reset of the ‘swarm’ who want some else to fix it, good luck. Lemmings.

It’s important to remember that “just touching an officer could get you tasered or beaten and stuck with a felony charge for assaulting a police officer.”

http://www.flexyourrights.org/faq

I crossed the border for decades.These guys have a ton of cache, and if they’ve gotten PO’d at something, they’re free to punish however many unfortunate people they want until they’ve got it out of their system. Like police, some are friendly and professional, some are not. Considering that this is a crossing north of -Detroit-, I imagine the guys hired to work there aren’t noobs or known for their ‘liberal’ sympathies.

“The sad fact is that if you were an ring of Colombian drug dealers, or an terrorist with a truck load of explosives, we would have waved you into the country with a big smile. A Canadian wanting to leave? Well that is a genuine by God national crisis. Be thankful you weren’t shot.”

I think, after reading this whole page several times, this one deserves the prize.

Enjoy the oxygen you are able to get.

First I would like to apologize for the US Customs actions. They have felt entitled to treat people like they are less than human. This came from The Bush Administration and it will take decades to wash the dirt that the administration bought into. There are many other areas where the US has been lost any amount of credibility because of the Bush Administration.

Second I hope you follow through and sue the people involved. On the other hand you are probably lucky(?) that they didn’t prosecute you for asking questions. The patriot act gave the government carte blanche to pretty much do what ever they wanted to do. That is what lead to this, as it gave free reign to police state tactics.

Dear Peter,
My sincere sympathies to the ordeal you had to undergo.

The US border guards(CBP) believe you should always be obeisant and subservient to them, like a small child in kindergarten.
When an intelligent adult confronts them and starts asking logical questions, it hurts their small mind like a razor cutting through what little gray matter they have.

Simply put, they are animals wearning smart looking uniforms

Peace

Srinivas(Ex-detainee at US border)

Hi,

Just discovered your case of ill-treatment via Richard Morgan’s site. I don’t know what’s up with the US these days, I mean I like America and hopefully there’s plenty of nice people still living there – might just be the calibre of employees in their Border Guard. Hope you are on the mend.

You know what they say about the UK, Canada and America though? At least we in the UK have 3000 miles of ocean between us and them, you poor buggers have to live next door!

There! That should get me a visit by the black helicopters should it, unless that clown in the White (Black?) house is too busy turning the US into a 3rd world country with too many noisy mosques…. apart from Utah – don’t think even he could change the Bible Belt.. (cue more black helicopters!!)

Cheers,
Mark.

Peter – that must have been a shocking experience; were it me, my own imagination would have been running riot, just making up the very worst that could happen. But thankfully you didn’t end up in some grand guignol Twin-Peaks high-freakery episode and are still in there, kicking and scratching. I find it interesting, though, that this thread has attracted some glittering examples of the heartless, dead-eyed trolls who get off on acting like some righteous Hand o God, star-spangled thugbot just itching to show us all the error of our radically swinish ways. Yeah, Bob, Joooe and Dave – y`all reading this?

For me, a British writer who hasnae yet ventured to the Land of Brave, it seems utterly clear that you should assume that almost anyone wearing a badge could be a psycho. A sad assumption but in the cause of living to write another day, a necessary one. Ten semolians to the fund. Venceremos!

Hello,

First, let me say how sorry I am for you having had to have lived through this.
Now, on to the police’s actions against you.

Let me start by saying I am a police officer as well…….and I find these actions you were subjected to both objectionable and, unfortunately, fairly typical.

A search of a person’s vehicle by a large group of police, at the side of the road with no reasonable explanation(not at a Border crossing station), while the owner/occupant is ordered to remain inside would cause a holy legal hell of a mess in Canada. (Look up Operation Pipeline, it’s “suspicious” vehicle template (slightly modified) is still taught both sides of the border)

To not explain to the owner/driver/occupants what is happening, and why they must remain inside (if for so called “officer safety”) is something that would raise legal hell in Canada and should do so in the U.S as well.

The problem is the cost of defending ones self in court against spurious charges laid by those who would take the authority entrusted to them by the public to protect and serve and then turn into rights trampling jack booted thugs.

Most police officers are good hearted people who just want to do their job and go home at end of shift. I am sorry you had to be subjected to this kind of incident.

Even I, as a policeman, am cautious when crossing the US border and dealing with their Border Services. With their hyper-paranoia against threats to their nation and their crazy drug war I just follow the Border Guards directions to the letter…….. and avoid going to the US as much as possible .
It’s a shame because they are a wonderful people….after getting past the hyper-paranoia.

>“I [got] out of the car to ask what was going on. I repeat[ed] that question
>when refused an answer and told to get back into the vehicle.”
>So… why didn’t you just get back in your car? Could’ve avoided some
>extreme unpleasantness.

It’s a sad state of affairs when an otherwise innocent man becomes guilty of the unofficial crime of not cowering before authority. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

I’ve got a feeling, that being a recognized writer, he may have become a little “lofty” in his attitude. Artsyfartsy attitudes may fly in Toronto…but not in a serious location.

You have to realize what sort of job the Border Guards have to do. They face drug dealers/users, armed miscreants, fleeing felons, drunks, terrorists, and any number of other scum bags. So they don’t have the leeway of being smarmy with people. If they ask you to do something , do it! If they ask a question, answer it the best you can, with no extra verbiage! They aren’t there to be your buddy!

Nobody cares about you, your encounter, or your “version” of events (no doubt made up after the fact).

Other more reputable news agencies have already reported that you ended up choking a border guard.

Tell you what – when the border guards tell you to get back into the car – protip: do it.

And I’ll repeat what many others have said: “acting lofty” doesn’t qualify as “fighting” or “running”. Attitude is not a crime.

The attitude of people who are willing to accept the new paradigm of law enforcement, “law enforcement through overwhelming force” is quite amazing to me. The police are supposed “to protect and to serve”, and they are supposed to protect and to serve THE PUBLIC, not themselves. Yes, they have a dangerous job. That is why they carry guns, armour, pepper spray, handcuffs and radioes, that is why they don’t operate alone, and why they have a wide array of legal powers.

However, that does not mean that they have the right to answer to any perceived level of thread with overwhelming force. They are not soldiers fighting a war, they are civil servants, FFS! “If somebody gets out, the cop may feel threatened because cops are shot during traffic stops” is not a valid argument. If a law enforcement officer can’t deal with the pressures of his ultra-dangerous job maybe he should find a safer job, like being a lumberjack, a fisherman, a construction labourer, a truck driver or a farmer.

BTW, for people who are not aware of the statistics, that was sarcasm. All these abovementioned professions have a higher annual rate of occupational deaths per 100 000 workers than law enforcement. In case of lumberjacks or fishermen, approximately 10 times as much of them die in the line of duty as cops. So spare my your tears. Lumberjacks and fishermen die so you can build your houses and feed your children, but you don’t give them the right to punch, pepper spray and taze members of general public with impunity. I blame the media for the uniform fetish which causes this general admiration of “respect my authoritay”.

Yes, being a policeman is approximately three times more risky then being Joe Average working in an office. If you can’t deal with this level of risk without trampling over the civil rights of people you are supposed to protect, then don’t fucking join and go work in the office. Oh, wait, then you won’t get a gun and a tazer and a licence to smash faces against the pavement. Sight.

And, BTW, I was and still am considering a career in law enforcement. Somebody has to and because society needs LEOs. But somebody should watch over the watchmen. The DHS seems to severely lack in oversight right now, which is why I’m not planning on visiting the Land Formerly Known As Of The Free anytime soon. I hope this changes. 🙂

A deeper question here is: what gives border guards (or cops generally) the right to stop peaceful travellers in the first place? If, as the founding documents of the u.s. proclaim, all human beings are equal, then how can having a badge and a uniform license one group of human beings to forcibly seize another human being’s person and property without probable cause?

Given what notorious liars cops are, I’m not inclined to put much faith in their claim that Watts assaulted them. But even if he had, it would be perfectly justified as self-defense. (Imprudent, no doubt, but that’s a different question.

Horrible. But unfortunately not uncommon. As much as I sympathise with you, most people falling victim to police and official brutality do not have the network and support that you have. Their stories are forgotten.

We need to stand united against the terrors of governments and their fascist lackeys worldwide.

USA = United States of Abuse? Sad.

I do not pretend to understand the minutia of law enforcement across the atlantic but I’m dismayed at the people who take the attitude of rather smugly suggesting that it serves the guy right for not getting back in the car and what did he expect. What sort of mindset do you have, it is truly tragic you accept this a justifiable course of events.

How about when asked why they were searching his car giving a polite and to the point answer and then asking him again to sit back in his car whilst they continued their search and that they’d answer any other questions he might have while doing so.

That to me sounds like a more reasonable response from a civil and sane point of view.

This is all very fascinating, but the support for your fictional account will evaporate once the video is released, showing your ‘unprovoked’ assault was not quite in keeping with your self-serving one-sided revisionist account.

Nice try, but the ability to distinguish fact from fiction has not completely vanished, on either side of the border.

Can’t wait for you to share my cell with me. You sure do have a pretty mouth.

@all those who are so certain that Peter’s account is fictional and that they will be vindicated once the video is released … apply the same filter to yourself … perhaps it is Peter who will be vindicated.

Do you know the border guards personally such that you can vouch for either of their characters – as those of us who know Peter are clearly comfortable in vouching for his?

Do you know Peter personally such that you are certain his account is self-serving, one-sided and revisionist?

If you know neither the border guards nor Peter, then what are you basing your conclusive certainty on? What makes you so “right” when clearly there are many people who have posted here that know Peter personally who are clearly prepared to accept his version.

Maybe you are right and the video evidence will show Peter’s account as incorrect. If so, so be it. On the other hand, if the evidence vindicates Peter, will you be so quick to return here to give him his due?

@James Wayne –

“Nobody cares about you, your encounter, or your “version” of events (no doubt made up after the fact).”

… um … have you read any of the posts here? *You* may not care about Peter, his encounter or his “version” of events … but, clearly more that a few people do care. How many? A couple hundred … on this site alone? Well, at least more than *zero*.

“Other more reputable news agencies have already reported that you ended up choking a border guard.”

Are they reporting on independent eye-witness accounts, or are they simply repeating the official US Customs statement-to-the-press. If the former, by all means, post the link.

If the latter, then yeah, of course they are reporting that he “ended up choking a border guard”, because THAT’S US CUSTOMS’ VERSION. Don’t try to imply greater credibility from “other more reputable news agencies” if they are all repeating the same Customs official release statement.

I think it is amusing that there are so many comments like this one ..

I apologize on behalf of my nation, and all the U.S. citizens who pay these idiots’ salaries.

As if there is something unique about cops in America. Any cop, anywhere, is going to do what he needs to do to get on top of a perceived threat.

If you think this is unique to America, you’ve got another think coming.

Here’s a small statistic for you, then. The number of police brutality reports per 100 000 population in 1991 was 0,7 in France, 6 in the UK and 92.5 in the USA.

American police is not uniquely violent. But in the community of democratic countries USA is certainly the leader in the industry of state-sponsored violence, just as it is the leader in the percentage of population in prisons, the amount of death sentences and so on.

@ Brian Dunbar

“I think it is amusing that there are so many comments like this one ..”
>I apologize on behalf of my nation, and all the U.S. citizens who pay these idiots’ salaries.
“As if there is something unique about cops in America. Any cop, anywhere, is going to do what he needs to do to get on top of a perceived threat. If you think this is unique to America, you’ve got another think coming.”

It would be odd though, wouldn’t it, for an American citizen to apologize for a cop behaving badly in Italy, Japan, elsewhere?

You deserve everything coming to you. Its just like a canadian to embellish the truth. I can’t believe how many idiots would actually send you money. Take whats coming to you and maybe learn a lesson, stop with the pity party would you

And once again, Mr. Watts is proven prophetic in predicting that vicious collections of data flying about the maelstrom are not self-aware and do not understand punctuation.

I first read about what happened to you on the cbc.ca news site. I am a big fan of your books and I’m pissed.

I made sure to write a comment on with that article, http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/12/12/watts-arrest-us012.html , about how you’d certainly know better than to assault any border guards, even more specifically noting how the kind of things you wrote in Maelstrom just only kind of sort of implies you know what the consequences would be.

You can’t see that comment, of course. Because it’s been censored 3 times since my first attempt to put it to that article.

I live in South Africa, I have seen the exact same behaviour before.

Those border guards were looking for a bribe. When they didn’t get one, you got “consequences.”

That sucks. Getting mugged like that and all. Remember, by defending your rights you’re defending all of us. I’m grateful for that.