Science Fiction author Peter Watts (pictured), whose work has also appeared in videogames, was detained at the U.S./Canadian border last week after a dispute with U.S. Customs officers.
The Toronto-based author was returning to Canada, reports the Times Herald, using the Blue Water Bridge crossing when he was apparently selected for a random inspection.
This is where the story takes two different tangents depending on which side is offering the account.
Watts asserts that as the inspection began, he exited the car to ask officers what was going on. He claims they asked him to return to the car, at which point he asked them again what they were doing. Watts said that this act then resulted in him being assaulted, punched in the face, pepper-sprayed and thrown in jail for the night on charges of assaulting a customs officer.
Custom officials claim that Watts was “aggressive” from the beginning and refused to get back in his car. At this point Watts was about to be handcuffed, but resisted arrest said officials, and tried to choke an officer. This is when officers used pepper-spray.
Watts was arraigned last Wednesday, December 9, and released on $5,000 bond. He claims his computer was seized and he was released across the border in shirtsleeves.
On his blog, Watts categorically denies choking an officer and says he “looks forward” to seeing security camera footage of the incident. He is due back in court on December 22 for a preliminary injunction. If convicted, Watts faces up to two years in jail and/or a $2,000 fine.
BoingBoing’s Cory Doctrow has jumped to Watts' defense, donating $1,000 to his legal defense.
Watts contributed to Relic Entertainment’s Homeworld 2 and also served as a writer and art consultant for Crytek on the upcoming Crysis 2.
Comments
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
If that's how you want to rationalize your bias, go right ahead.
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
Again, I'm not biased. If it did turn out that this is nothing more than police brutality, then I'd be one of the first people calling for them to be sent to jail. However, if it turned out that this is a case of some douchebag assaulting a police officer, I'm pretty sure you'd find some rationale to still blame the federal agents.
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You KILL Vampires. You don't DATE them.
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
And now that you speak (well, more like explain) with sense, I can take you seriously again.
This is the internet. I can't always read when joke, hyperbole, or sarcasm is used. But either way, I am a believer that your argument holds up logically so long as all of your points do. You weren't making a point, but rather a joke, and thus my mistake.
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
Getting out of his car and refusing to return is an aggressive act in the eyes of any LEO. He was acting in an aggressive manner on that basis alone, without knowing if any of the things its claimed he did were true.
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
Just to point out: If he simply asked twice why he was being stopped, in his eyes he wouldn't see that as "refusing to return" to his car.
Plus, we don't know of the situation. Was the police officer in his squad car? In a booth with a heater? With the cold around that area, sitting for a while in a car with the engine turned off could get pretty cold, so it's understandable that the guy got agitated and wanted to know why he was being held up.
There are a few more things that should be taken into account:
-Is it posted on the way to the border that you may be stopped for random inspection?
-The cops obviously didn't tell him why he was being stopped. Different agencies have different rules on this, but usually they are required to tell you the reason for your detainment, whether it be temporarily being pulled over or full on incarceration.
When a cop is in the right, I will usually be one of the first to stand in his defence, but if the cop was in the wrong then I'll also speak out against their actions. In this case, I would say that the cops were in the wrong, simply because they did not give reason for their actions.
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
I've crossed the US-Canadian border many times in my life, and it is posted that you can be stopped. As to your second point, you obviously haven't been pulled over, ever. The police officer will take your license and insurance. He or she won't tell you why you've been stopped until AFTER they've ran your information. Yes, they do say it, but you'll be sitting in your car for fifteen to twenty minutes before you find out why.
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You KILL Vampires. You don't DATE them.
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
Been pulled over four times (twice in CA, once in MN and MT). All 4 cases I was told as soon as the cop showed up to the window that it was for speeding (the one in Montana was a friend driving my truck, and the one in MN resulted in a warning). Yes, they must tell you why you are being pulled over. Then they run your information. Then they return with either a warning or a ticket (or in the case of MT, a bill for $20 which you can pay right then and there. MT was really awsome like that).
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
I've been pulled over WAAAAY more than four times, and every time has been exactly as I've described. Yes, they have to tell you what they pulled you over for, but they do NOT have to tell you that immediately after coming up to your window.
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You KILL Vampires. You don't DATE them.
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
If you question them, they are required to tell you. So if you say to them "what seems to be the problem officer?" they are not allowed to walk off and not tell you till after they come back with the ticket.
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
They do it all the time. Here in Minnesota, that's totally legal, as long as they they tell you why you were pulled over before they resolve the situation, such as arresting you, giving you a ticket or sending you on your way. The one time I've been present when they didn't say why was when my dad was pulled over. We both know he was speeding, and the police officer asked for his license and insurance. He didn't say why he pulled us over. He checked my dad's license and insurance, gave it back and let us on our way.
The fact of the matter is they don't have to tell you right away. They don't even have to respond right away, with the legal excuse of "I didn't here him/her." Sure, you can say that's a lie, but good luck with that.
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You KILL Vampires. You don't DATE them.
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
Getting out of your car is not suffient grounds for the boarder patrol to spray, beat, and arrest someone. Being a police officer does not give one unlimited authority to stamp out behavior they do not like. There are rules about how and when an officer can escalate force and if they broke those rules then the officers were acting criminally.
Enforcing the law does not make one exempt from it.
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
However, you need to consider the accusations against him, namely that he assaulted a border patrol agent. That DOES give them the authority to spray, beat and arrest him. Now, we don't know if these accusations are true, but you can't just dismiss them, either.
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You KILL Vampires. You don't DATE them.
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
I admit, I am wary of the officer's account in this case. The officer's claims run like a textbook 'we got out of control and need post-op justification'. Combine this with many police department's failure to keep such behavior in check has made me deeply suspicious when it is used in a situation where the non-cop had no particular reason to be violent (no drugs or alcohol, no history/record, no contraband).
This also comes from having spent so much time in Pittsburgh and Philly, where historically people tend to not trust the police due to decades of abuse and no real checks on them. The police in those two regions are a bit like dealing with the mob or gangs... sometimes useful but best to just stay away from them since they are unpredictable and you can not do anything about them.
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
I find it hard to believe anyone would actually stupid enough to try and CHOKE a border official. Get surly with, sure, but choke? That breaks my suspension of disbelief.
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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
Nice.
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You KILL Vampires. You don't DATE them.
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
Methinks the videotape will be quite interesting, and someone is going to be wiping egg off their face...
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
Yeah, the video is going to be the decider in this one. Until it's released, there's probably not much to talk about...
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
//and he was released across the border in shirtsleeves//
In a lot of places in canada, it's -40 with the windchill right now.
I too would love to see that video.
Also, i have to point something out. The article says that he was crossing back into canada, but that he had a problem with US Customs Officials. I've crossed that border many times, when entering Canada, you talk to canadian officials. When entering the US, you talk to US officials.
Either this article is wrong, or the US officials stopped him before he crossed back into Canada, which adds more questions.
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
He was stopped on the US side going into Canada, which is one of the reasons this case is getting so much attention.
Re: Game Writer in Border Dispute
According to what I've read he was stopped for inspection after the tollbooths for leaving the USA but before getting to the Canadian side.
I've only driven to the States (through Detroit or Buffalo) about a half dozen times in recent years and I was unaware that these "before you leave" inspections even happened. Rather stunned.
While I think it's generally not a good idea to question officials 'cause your cruising for problems, in this situation I can see myself doing the same because I wasn't aware that this could happen.
Count me in for seeing the tapes as well. This seems screwy.