http://www.rifters.com/crawl/?p=1186

Note that he was not convicted of violence towards a border official. Indeed, it’s admitted that he was struck in the face by the border guard.

What he’s been convicted of it not immediately lying down on the ground when ordered to by the border guards just after being hit in the face.

“After Beaudry had finished whaling on me in the car, and stepped outside, and ordered me out of the vehicle; after I’d complied with that, and was standing motionless beside the car, and Beaudry told me to get on the ground — I just stood there, saying “What is the problem?”, just before Beaudry maced me.
And that, said the Prosecutor in her final remarks — that, right there, was failure to comply. That was enough to convict.”

In short, if you don’t immediately comply with any lawful command by a border guard, you’re guilty of a felony.

Also, in Canada, you’re supposed to get out of your car when you’re stopped by the police, as opposed to the US where you’re supposed to stay in it.

Do all Canadians feel that they are not subject to US laws when standing on US soil? Would they allow US citizens to ignore Canadian Laws when in Canada?

Good point about culture shock. And another aspect of culture shock: Canadians are not accustomed to the rough ways of many (but of course, not all!) American officials.

Once, In Brussels, on a bicycle, outside their equivalent of Central Park, I was stopped by a police officer and asked for my passport. After he read that I was American, he asked me to wait. He returned in ten minutes, apologized for stopping me, and then handed me a large (grocery-sized) bag of Belgian food, that had been made by his mother. … That just doesn’t happen to a foreigner in the USA.

I would guess that Peter Watts, despite his extaordinary imagination, never envisioned that he would be treated that way, for standing his ground and for asking a simple question.

Michael Pastore
50 Benefits of Ebooks

Reportedly there is tape, and I seem to recall hearing there were other witnesses as well.

It’s a little more complicated than “instantaneous obedience.” Possibly some culture shock is involved. Canadians are trained to get out of the car when stopped by police, but American cops tend to regard anything other than sitting quietly with both hands visible as possible aggression. Doesn’t render the border patrol’s behavior any more excusable, but does shed light on how the clusterf–k could have started small and snowballed.

(And for crying out loud, you’d think that border patrol agents would be trained on cultural differences like that.)

What possibly happened is a similar scenario to the Boston-area Gates case earlier this year. We can surmise that Watts did not respond with instantaneous obedience (along with a humble attitude) to the official’s demand, and then the customs officials could not think of any other (and more humane) way to respond than to treat this man as a dangerous criminal.

Potentially, both sides have a lot to lose in this case: Watts could spend 2 years in jail; or, if things go the other way, border patrol employees (and supervisors) could be fired and the Customs Department get sued, and suffer the humiliation and consequences of bad publicity.

If truth and justice are too optimistic to hope for, then maybe both sides can agree to call this “a tie”, and just go home and forget about it.

Good luck, Peter. We will be watching for news on the trial date, December 22.

Michael Pastore
50 Benefits of Ebooks