Hugo-award-nominated science fiction author Dr. Peter Watts is in serious legal trouble after he was beaten, pepper-sprayed and imprisoned by American border guards at a Canada U.S. border crossing December 8.
Peter, a Canadian citizen, was on his way back to Canada after helping a friend move house to Nebraska over the weekend. He was stopped at the border crossing at Port Huron, Michigan by U.S. border police for a search of his rental vehicle. When Peter got out of the car and questioned the nature of the search, the gang of border guards subjected him to a beating, restrained him and pepper sprayed him.
At the end of it, local police laid a felony charge of assault against a federal officer against Peter.
On Wednesday, he posted bond and was taken across the border to Canada in shirtsleeves (he was released by Port Huron officials with his car and possessions locked in impound, into a winter storm that evening).
He’s home safe. For now. But he has to go back to Michigan to face the charge brought against him.
The charge is spurious. But it’s also very serious. It could mean two years in prison in the United States, and a ban on travel in that country for the rest of Peter’s life. Peter is mounting a vigorous defense, but it’s going to be expensive – he’s effectively going up against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and he needs the best legal help that he can get.
RTFA for details, an interview with Peter, comments by friends and peers.
Thanks, Cinaedh
#9 Bill Glass “Most countries now warn travelers to avoid the US.”
Please inform Mexico of that.
#13 — YOU ARE LOSING IT. They are called Border Patrol and they are all over the place along the US Canada border. They are in my town in Washington, we served them at the deli, they are part of DHS and have BORDER PATROL emblazoned on their outfits. They speed recklessly in black unmarked SUV’s and the cops cannot do anything about it. They are seldom at the border itself. They pull over buses and look for Mexicans and drugs among other things. Quit clogging up the blog with misinformation and random accusations.
#15 Nope, I was wrong. Wh’d hv thnk t? I guess they’re concerned about illegal removal of antiquities or endangered species. From Michigan. Grin. Among over 400 posts at the boing boing site:
Cory Doctorow | #86 | 09:55 on Fri, Dec.11
To clarify: you have to go through a US border checkpoint on the way out of the country at Port Huron, before you go through the Canadian checkpoint to enter Canada. My trunk and suitcase were searched at this checkpoint on my last drive through.
Remember, most of these DHS jobs were filled before the economic meltdown, and were the guys that couldn’t make it as rent-a-cops. What would you expect?
# 19
Frightened of the CBC? Wow. Now try something really scary like the CRTC, or even Gordie from Stats Canada.
In Soviet Russia, cross border is $US1,000. Or $US1,500 without optional beating up.
That’s change you better believe in. Or they’ll send the cops.
The moral of the story is that if you have friends who run a really popular website like boingboing then you can get publicity. The rest of us just get beaten up without anyone knowing about it.
I would like to see what the border patrol says. At this point we just have this guy’s side of the story with no one else collaborating it.
Reading all the above comments is pointless. The Border cops are dicks, and I would guess the guy got arrested for being one, too. Since the cops have guns, the guy loses. Would you like guys like these coming to your house if you don’t purchase Health Insurance? Obama wouldn’t mind, and neither would Pelosi.
aah yer all jist a buncha puzzys
i say kill ‘em all and let God sort ‘em out!
I’ve crossed at this border crossing (Bluewater bridge) a few times as well as Detroit/Ambassador bridge, Champlain, NY and over 40 times at Alexandria Bay, NY (where I-81 ends at Canadian border). All since June. And I have never even seen any searches of vehicles leaving, only entering.
And it may be different in cars, but the only time a big truck might stop on the exiting side is if his load was only transiting and he had to clear the Bond on exit. (A very rare instance)
I have witnessed the Border Patrol sitting in the highway median up to 75 miles from the border but always assumed they were looking for people/vehicles heading in and not out.
In short, I find it unusual that his vehicle would be searched as he tried to exit. And what kind of search could have been done to the rental vehicle if he got into trouble when he got out of the vehicle. There is much more to this story than the newspaper article stated.
JCD said “They speed recklessly in black unmarked SUV’s and the cops cannot do anything about it. They are seldom at the border itself. They pull over buses and look for Mexicans and drugs among other things.”
This sounds a lot like the solid white or solid black SUV’s that patrol I-40 east of Memphis and I-65 south of Nashville and sometimes I-35 between San Antonio and Austin, TX. Truckers give them the nickname “Cocaine Cowboys”. And its not meant as a compliment.
You guys who automatically bow to anyone in a uniform are pathetic.
I respect police — A LOT — but I don’t think they are infallible.
Grows some spines, sheeple!
>> farbauti said,
>> The US is truly turning into Gestapo land
>> Nobody in his/her right mind should travel there anymore.
If the US scares you that much, perhaps you’re the kind of person who should stay close to home.
I’ve traveled a lot of places and, I assure you, there are far worse places than America when it comes to the cops and border patrol.
Fishy !
gquaglia said:
#1 and #2, absolutely right. Cops are professionals and do not beat the shit out of someone for no reason.
Errr… you’re joking, right?
“non grata chez nuestros primos”
What kind of talk is that?
22 JCD : “Quit clogging up the blog with misinformation and random accusations.”
Geez, John – without misinformation and random accusations, there wouldn’t be ANYthing on this blog. Besides, shouldn’t you give that advice to Curry on NA?
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Question (one of many about this case) : Why did the EFF get involved in a police brutality case?
# 26 sargasso : Very funny. True story – a couple of months ago I was openly “smuggling” medicine into Burma. The border guards charged me about the equivalent of US$100 to turn a blind eye. (No beating was offered.) Days later, leaving the country, the border guards (one of whom was the guy I paid on the way in) demanded a higher payment to leave. They took my digital camera and GPS unit. (Again, no beating.) The funny thing was, after they ‘robbed’ me and told me to go, they bowed to me in the ritual Buddhist show of respect!
An ex RCMP/law professor taught us to fear one group – border patrol. They have unlimited powers and use them without hesitation.
#22 Don’t be so hard on #13. It has been established that he was just upgraded from conFused to senile. He’s not doing it on purpose, he just doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
#37 That’s a mix of latin, french & spanish which is the new language being spoken in some provinces of Canada. The other one is a mix of english, afghan & punjabi.
In the future, the ones speaking the former will threaten to secede from the latter by becoming a US state. At least they’re better off with this new language, since I think there are more spanish speaking people in the US than french speakers, so their seceding efforts mighty actually pay off.