"Say please" at U.S. Border nets pepper spray

[sparty]

Here's a link to the article below. Make sure to read the comments at the end of the article.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1351216



A Canadian who demanded courtesy from a U.S. border security guard says he was pepper sprayed and held in custody for three hours for asking the disrespectful officer to "say please" when ordering him to turn his car off during a search.
"I refused to turn off the car until he said please. He didn't. And he has the gun, I guess, so he sprayed me," said Desiderio Fortunato, a Coquitlam, B.C., resident who frequently crosses the border to visit his second home in the state of Washington. "Is that illegal in the United States, asking an officer to be polite?"
The incident occurred on Monday at the Aldergrove border crossing, east of Vancouver, shortly after 12 p.m. Mr. Fortunato, a dance studio director, was travelling to his home in Blaine, Wash., to retrieve a wallet his wife had left during their most recent visit.
He said he was questioned by a border officer who demanded he turn off his car and, when asked to make the request more politely, threatened to spray him with his pepper gun if he did not comply.
"I just felt I should stand my ground about it. I should not be treated like that. No matter what kind of position you are in, if you want respect you have to show respect," he said yesterday. "I asked him three times and when I didn't turn the car off, because he didn't say please, he pepper sprayed me.... It was terrible. For half an hour or so I couldn't see anything."
Mr. Fortunato said after he was sprayed he was forcefully taken into custody by several officers. He was held for three hours before he was released without being allowed entry into the United States. Mr. Fortunato says he was dismissed with a warning to be more cooperative in the future.
A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said officers are trained on how to handle confrontation, and refusal to comply with a direct order is justification to use capsicum spray, also known as pepper spray, or other "soft techniques" such as physical holds.
"The combination of training and experience is what our officers use to communicate with passenger on a day-today basis. Our officers will give direct orders or commands to passengers, especially in situations where there may be a safety concern. It is the obligation of the passenger to be compliant with those," said spokesperson Mike Milne.
He added that officers order border passengers to turn of their vehicles when they want to take somebody from a car and, in such cases, further questioning would be conducted inside the building.
While he could not comment on the specific case, Mr. Milne said the use of force at a border crossing is very rare, very serious and subject to immediate review.
By his own admission, Mr. Fortunato is a stickler for courtesy and respect. The Portuguese native, who has lived in B.C. for 25 years and has owned his second home in Washington for three, pulled a similar stunt at the same border crossing about one year ago. In that case, he was ordered to wait hours to be questioned before being allowed to cross.
Once, he said, he asked a Canadian border agent to be more polite when requesting documents, to which the agent responded with a sheepish "please."
mcoutts@nationalpost.com
© 2008 The National Post Company. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited.

[chewy]

I especially like how the incident happened way the heck over by Vancouver but the picture they show is from Detroit (the Ambassador Bridge).

I like the replies. It's so typical of people who've spent 10 minutes in line at the border to assume they know everything that happens. We dragged someone out of a car once years ago, cuffed them then had to carry him to the holding cell. He wouldn't comply with officers to exit the vehicle then reached for a knife in the car. Once we got him cuffed he did the whole fish out of water move and wiggled around like an idiot. As the guys carryed him to the cell another traveler gave us the *tsck*sound and said "bunch of thugs... is that REALLY necessary". If she wasn't 90 I probably would have OC'd her but alass I wasn't so rebellious back then :D

I have to say I would think, just on the face of it, that the officer may have over reacted but that's how I teach people at the range for use of force. Ask them to do it, Tell them to do it then if they don't do it give them the consequences of what'll happen if they don't. Then after the three warnings if they don't comply you make them comply. I agree that you should be polite to a point but we don't know if that guy is just being a jerk or if he is wasting time and getting himself ready to fight.

I can't wait for Taser's!! :D

[Big Sexy]

Ask them to do it, Tell them to do it then if they don't do it give them the consequences of what'll happen if they don't. Then after the three warnings if they don't comply you make them comply.

See, that's your problem right there. You give'em too many opportunities to tell you to phuck off. :D

BIG SEXY subscribes to the Marine Corps' method, which has worked for over 14 years of civilian law enforcement, as well as on a few hapless Marines.

BIG tells them once, to include the warning of there won't be a second time, then, he makes them comply. Some muss & some fuss, but all fun. ;)

[CACBAND]

Make sure to read the comments at the end of the article.

Some of them aren't too bad. Sadly, most them, supporting of the CBP Officer or not, don't sound like the most educated comments.

However this one is pretty good:

Having met Mr. Fortunato on many occasions at the dance convention he runs with his family, I find it laughable at best that he is councilling anyone on respect. Mr. Fortunato is perhaps the RUDEST human being I have ever known and can only surmise that this is in fact a desperate need for attention or a way to reap monetary gain.

I do agree that he was looking to make a scene, and he got what he wanted. For all the guy knew the officer would have said “thanks….(questions)” after the engine was turned off.

The best comment on the whole story:

I can’t help but wonder how much more funny and interesting the world would be if we could pepper spray every politically correct fascist.

[Ispbear]

Next time I think this guy needs to take a ride on a tazer. What a tool!!

[cjcrew022000]

Reading those comments makes my blood-pressure sky rocket!

This guy got exactly what he deserved. He is being resistant and I am sure there is an offense of hindering or obstruction that CBP officers can arrest for. Sure border officers should act with a certain level of professionalism but they are not greeters nor are they friends of the traveling public. They are peace officers and crossing an international border is a serious issue.

Do you think this moron would try the same stunt with customs if he was flying into Russia, Saudi Arabia, etc....? He'd be lucky to only get sprayed in most other countries.

I wonder if this guy tries the same thing with the police. Maybe he doesn't stop until an officer pulls up beside him and yells "please pull over!". :rolleyes:

[BP348]

Whenever I think public opinion can't shock or surprise me anymore

And then I read a bunch of those comments :rolleyes:

[CACBAND]

Reading those comments makes my blood-I wonder if this guy tries the same thing with the police. Maybe he doesn't stop until an officer pulls up beside him and yells "please pull over!". :rolleyes:

Sadly, yelling at him, even when saying "please" is rude. :rolleyes:

What I'm really wondering is did the officer have his hat on?;)

[sparty]

Yesterday I heard from an officer who works near where this happened. Apparently they are now undergoing conflict deescalation training. He said he wouldn't be surprised if the training goes national.

[BP348]

Why dosen't that surprise me? :mad:

I guess the Officer is now the bad guy here :rolleyes:

[Lawson]

I guess he wasnt so Fortunato afterall....







anyone? anyone? :D