us / canada border control

[data]

some of the posts in here doesn't make any sense to me what so ever, how someone could even think of defending the guards actions here is beyond me.

 

really, if something like this would've happened in sweden, even once (and came out like this), it would be all over the news, front page stuff, there would be some kind of internal investigation, and from the media, people would be outraged, and if the people involved would not quit their job volentarily, they'd probably end up suspended or fired.

 

sure, if they were police officers, things might've been different even here, but these are fucking border security!

 

im not saying sweden's some kind of scandinavian utopia where everything is awesome or anything like that, far from it, i just can't believe this kind of behaviour is just accepted, or something to be expected if you decide to question authorities. fuck.

[Guest EDGEY]

Also - I just went through canadian/american customs this past weekend - no issue whatsoever.

 

If anything - border control seemed bored.

[Guest spraaaa]

I'm curious how this even got recorded, I've been questioned before and they made me leave my phone in the car.

 

Honestly I don't see how screening people at the border could be enforced without being dicks and profiling people. Not to say I support it, but the law that requires them to do it is part of the problem. How does this work in other countries?

[oscillik]

I'm curious how this even got recorded, I've been questioned before and they made me leave my phone in the car.

 

Honestly I don't see how screening people at the border could be enforced without being dicks and profiling people. Not to say I support it, but the law that requires them to do it is part of the problem. How does this work in other countries?

probably used a minidisc recorder or some other small portable audio recorder.

 

and as for how this is done in other countries, politeness usually helps.

[FLA FUR BIS FLE]

I go through this border all of the time. it just sounds like regular business.

 

But I will say, the guy doing the recording sounded like a total chode. These border guys are obviously trigger happy, why would you go out of your way to be reactionary and provoking? I don't know, maybe in Canada that is acceptable conversation with Cops.. but these days in the States, any figure of authority is ready to taser you at the drop of a dime.

 

On top of that, what was so difficult and irritating about the initial questions asked by the border guard in the first place? I am not specifically defending these guys, because yes they can be dicks, but the initial questions were no more bizarre or frustrating than the questions I get asked at any border crossing or airport. So as the guy continues to debate with the Customs officer (who is clearly a minor peg in the wheel), the conversation and explanations will get more and more convoluted as he goes along. No surprise there.

 

That said, over all, the reaction of the officers was over the top, but the guy could have avoided this had he just answered the very basic questions asked of him and been on his way to the fucking SHOPPING MALL ABOUT 5 MILES FROM MY HOUSE, rather than sitting in a detention cell. But maybe that was his idea in recording all of this in the first place?

 

 

*side note

 

Ontario citizens regularly come over to the State side of Niagara, shop at the mall, and then dump their shoe boxes and general trash on the side of the road so they don't have to pay taxes upon reentry in to Canada. I know this sounds petty, but I can't help but bring this up as I just two days ago watched a Canadian guy do this very thing, and he was standing about 5 feet from a dumpster.

 

another side note*

 

Canadian customs can be just as big of assholes and anal to American citizens crossing over. In fact, I've only ever been stopped for inspection upon entering Canada, and not the other way around. I was asked the same questions (whos car is this, how do you know the person you are with, how much money are you carrying, where are you going, when are you staying until, etc).

[Dan C]

That shit was crazy, but whatever, it's expected in this post 9/11 world.

[Siegecow]

What rights were infringed upon here? No one knows if he was arrested or released or what and the tape's been edited for dramatic effect.

[karmakramer]

whats the big deal? yeah the cop was a dick but he's a cop! are you guys really shocked?

[Bob Dylan]

That guy is a total asshole.

 

Bet he likes fucking frappachinos

 

and his iphone

[chenGOD]

You guys are fucking ludicrous....their job is to serve us!!

24ourange: no rights were infringed upon, because you don't have any rights at the border.

TRM: The asshole canadians who dump their shoeboxes on the side of the road? Yell at them.

When you are going shopping at a mall, and a border guard asks you "what shops?", how the fuck are you supposed to respond to that, beyond "I dunno."?

those other questions like "How much money do you have, where are you staying, whose car is this etc etc" are fine. But seriously "what shops are you going to?" Is a) not relevant, and b) none of their goddamned business.

 

Complacency.Will.Be.The.Death.Of.Freedoms

[Guest umop_apisdn]

Seems like there were a couple of suspicious cuts taken out of the audio. Either way, I'm gonna agree, the guy being questioned was asking for it. There's a simple rule to follow, be courteous and cooperative when dealing with law enforcement. Too many people try to be evasive and whatnot, and it's not law enforcement's job to say, "this guy is a total dick, I'm gonna wave him through rather than dealing with him." If he would have taken a difference course of action, he could have saved himself the jail time. Instead, he decided to be stand-offish, which obviously isn't gonna get you anywhere in that sort of situation. Sure, some people are gonna say they know their rights and blah blah blah, but had the guy sat there, answered questions calmly and thoughtfully, I'm sure he would have gotten back on his way to the mall. I'm not saying I agree with the way the officers conducted themselves, but the guy definitely could have avoided the trouble. He kept pressing the officers until things boiled over and he (and his wife) got arrested.

[Guest uptown devil]

yeah, had to go through the US / Canada border patrol in Rochester, NY. which pissed me off, because we weren't going into Canada - we were travelling from Buffalo, NY to Elmira, NY.

 

what? where is there border patrol in Rochester?

[chaosmachine]

depending on what day it is, your odds of getting randomly pulled over could be as high as 20+ percent. stay the fuck away from the border (and america in general, if you don't live there already), it's gambling with your freedom.

 

if you have to cross, do it on foot. don't bring any electronics, either.

[Guest taxman]

yeah, had to go through the US / Canada border patrol in Rochester, NY. which pissed me off, because we weren't going into Canada - we were travelling from Buffalo, NY to Elmira, NY.

 

what? where is there border patrol in Rochester?

yeah i lived there for six years and i never heard of anything like that.

 

and what on earth possessed you to go to elmira?

[FLA FUR BIS FLE]

You guys are fucking ludicrous....their job is to serve us!!

24ourange: no rights were infringed upon, because you don't have any rights at the border.

TRM: The asshole canadians who dump their shoeboxes on the side of the road? Yell at them.

When you are going shopping at a mall, and a border guard asks you "what shops?", how the fuck are you supposed to respond to that, beyond "I dunno."?

those other questions like "How much money do you have, where are you staying, whose car is this etc etc" are fine. But seriously "what shops are you going to?" Is a) not relevant, and b) none of their goddamned business.

 

Complacency.Will.Be.The.Death.Of.Freedoms

 

I did actually say something to the guy. He looked embarrassed, and didn't respond, but then again, he didn't bother to pick up the trash as I began to drive off . My complaint wasn't specifically relevant to this particular scenario, just a by-product of my frustration over this guys recording.

I can get down with not being complacent...but I don't really feel like this recording shows any gross injustice against the man who recorded it, nor do I feel like it is representational of the US border as a whole. I would say that I've been questioned far more at the border to England whenever I go through Heathrow than I ever have going to or from Canada. I also don't think it is complacency to honestly answer the questions you are asked by Customs agents, and then go about your business. If you listen to the way the guy answers the questions, right off the bat he sounds like a condescending asshole. The tone of voice of the Customs officer, initially, is rather mundane and he is repeating the same exact script that every officer repeats. The guy really sounds like he is going out of his way to sound like A. the questions asked were so out of control and unreasonable, and B. he is being victimized. I suppose I've just crossed over the border enough times to know how it works, and I've known about situations (drug mules etc) first hand, people that I've actually known IRL, to understand that certain questions, and the manner in which they ask them, are partially justified.

I can imagine that anyone who hasn't crossed the border, or any border for that matter, could be bewildered as to why they are asked the same questions multiple times in different ways. They are obviously trying to trip up people that are guilty in to saying something they didn't intend. No, it isn't a fun process.. and Yes, it can make you extremely uncomfortable. I wish it wasn't this way, but I wouldn't exactly use this as a glaring example of misconduct on behalf of the US Customs Officials.

 

ALSO, I should mention, that the border crossing between Canada and the US in Niagara is a sensitive area, given that the hydro-electric power facility is literally right next to the Lewiston Queenston Bridge (which powers a large portion of the Eastern seaboard, as well as a large chunk of Ontario). So, it could be that the Customs Agents in this area are even more testy than other areas of the border.

 

 

EDIT*

 

my last paragraph could be misleading, in that it appears I actually think and believe that Niagara Falls (or the US for that matter) is under constant threat of terrorism, or that "terrorism" as it is presented to the American populace is actually 100% truthful. No, I do not believe these things, but I can imagine that the Customs Officers do, and that they are indoctrinated in to this line of thinking from the moment they sign up for the job. I don't think all of them are Tea Party minded nutjobs, but I think to be a part of Law Enforcement is on a small scale similar to Military service, in so much as you are lead down a certain path of thinking, and carrying out particular instructions from your commanding officers and bureaucrats.

[Guest JW Modestburns]

This is ridiculous, he sounded like a real threat..

 

Technically the guy sounded a little irate but you would think that the border patrol would be used to this sort of thing. You touched the officers arm, off to prison with you for assault. What a fucked up joke.

[Guest Spittal]

Yikes, I cross the border is less than a week from Vancouver to Seattle... Shit.

[FLA FUR BIS FLE]

This is ridiculous, he sounded like a real threat..

 

Technically the guy sounded a little irate but you would think that the border patrol would be used to this sort of thing. You touched the officers arm, off to prison with you for assault. What a fucked up joke.

 

I highly doubt the guy ended up in prison. I don't know for certain, but I imagine that he spent a few hours in a detention room (they just look like interrogation rooms... i used to do maintenance at the Rainbow Bridge crossing in Niagara, in the Customs and Immigration building), or a holding cell on the premises, either until a lawyer, or a Canadian official came to sort out the situation. I could be wrong, but that is generally what they would do with people that were arrested or detained at the Niagara border.

[Guest Franklin]

guys i listened to the audio of this things here (drunk right now though) and this guy was being a douche for certain. i mean... he doesnt have to know what store he's shopping at but he's presenting a bit of an attitude right from the start. these border douches are trained to look for any bit of attitude and pull them over.

 

everybody needs to just act as if these border-douches are super important so that they can fulfill their wannebe cop douche shit and "protect" us/them.

 

cudk im drunk who give a fuck. i've been across the border like 100 times and i've never seen/hear something like this.

[Guest uptown devil]

they should just make canada and america one big country

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dementia]

Did not listen to the entire recording. The dynamic of their conversation (boring) becomes pretty obvious within the first minute or so—the driver challenged the authority of a hot-headed police officer whose dealt with his share of don't-tase-me-bros. He needs to choose more wisely the forum for addressing his border patrol woes.

 

Moron.

[Bubba69]

This recording shows nothing or proves nothing. First of all, its only audio, we can't see physically how this guy is presenting himself, my gut reaction is he is trying to provoke the border agents into doing something that sounds bad. Yes, the agents are allowed to ask questions that get to the motive behind going into the states, or vise versa. From what I gather from this recording is that the guy is being immediately defensive and raising his voice, which I would say is reasonable suspicion for them to press further. He would not cooperate, he constantly interrupted them saying things that are even more provoking "Its not like I'm a terrorist, blah blah blah, drugs, do you REALLY think I'm a criminal?". Obviously he has a motive(this recording). Furthermore, who knows if he really assaulted the guy, really ended up getting charged, whatever, I didn't see the video tape. But if I had the power to take someone into custody for a minute or two and scare the shit out of him because he was being an uncooperative little bitch, I would. I really didn't see video but if there were any wrongs done on the part of the border agents, it was relatively minor.

[Guest Z_B_Z]

the guy recording didnt really provoke anything. the border guard overreacted.. so fucking stupid. why waste peoples time with this bullshit? the guy obviously wasnt a threat, why shake him down? "we catch 3 terrorists a day".. god what nonsense. im sure their definition of "terrorists" is ridiculously broad.

 

perfectly illustrates the insanity and paranoia of the u.s.

[chenGOD]

whatever, the guy's a douche.

You don't get detained for being a douche.

full stop.

bubba, I'm glad you don't have that power then. that's an abuse of power.

 

TRM - I've had plenty of experience crossing borders, including being asked to comply to a search of my luggage due to suspicion of smuggling drugs (in Japan), which was a giant pain in the ass, because they dump all your shit and then you get to pack it all up again. I'm saying the overall acceptance level of authority on here is the complacency, not the answering of routine questions.

And on behalf of the littering canadians, sorry. Littering pisses me off too.

[oscillik]

yeah, had to go through the US / Canada border patrol in Rochester, NY. which pissed me off, because we weren't going into Canada - we were travelling from Buffalo, NY to Elmira, NY.

 

what? where is there border patrol in Rochester?

 

 

yeah, had to go through the US / Canada border patrol in Rochester, NY. which pissed me off, because we weren't going into Canada - we were travelling from Buffalo, NY to Elmira, NY.

 

what? where is there border patrol in Rochester?

yeah i lived there for six years and i never heard of anything like that.

 

and what on earth possessed you to go to elmira?

yes the coach that we were on was inspected by boarder patrol officers at the Rochester coach station.

 

and i was travelling to Elmira to see my significant other.