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Kalypso
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Registered: 5-17-2011
Location: San Diego
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Unnerving Border Crossing Experience
I had a rather unsettling, if not unnerving, experience with CBP this past Friday night when I was crossing north to return home after a dinner
meeting. I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar and what the outcome was.
It was late, probably around 11 pm +/-. I was on foot with a friend and, as usual, cleared immigration just fine. The x-ray machine was off-duty and
in it's place a drug sniffing dog. You guessed it, the drug dog took an inordinate interest in me. What happened next was, at least for me, like
something out of the Twilight Zone. I was handcuffed and taken to a separate building, frisked from top to bottom including incursions into what are
generally called one's private parts. My pruse was searched and my money counted. The searches yielded nothing as I have zero interest in drugs, and
would never knowingly transport them. I was given a "sorry for the inconvenience" and sent on my way.
What does concern me is that one of the officers had to complete paperwork and I did see that he marked the results as negative. I did, however, fail
to ask what happens to the paperwork and where it ends up. Does anyone know?
I did manage to remember to ask the agent who took me back to the main building if this incident would have any affect on my SENTRI and she said it
would not. Accurate?
Anyone know how accurate those drug detecting dogs are? I know they are supposed to be highly trained, but how often do they make an error? The one
Friday night clearly did.
And finally, if anyone wants to read the whole story in sordid detail, I did blog here so that I could organize my thoughts about what had happened.
My concerns are that this "drug" stop will show up every time I cross back on foot and/or that it might mean an automatic diversion to secondary when
driving back across. I am also wondering if it makes me a target, so to speak, for more frequent and thorough inspections. All I really want to do is
to be able to go to Baja, have fun or take care of any business and cross back with a minimum of hassel and fuss.
Has anyone had a drug dog falsely react to them? If so, what happened on subsequent trips SOB?
And no, I have no idea what scent the dog may have picked up or what may have been on my clothes to pique it's interest
TIA, but inquiring minds really would like to know.
[Edited on 7-7-2013 by Kalypso]
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DENNIS
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As unpleasant as it was, I don't think this will follow you. You did nothing and nothing was found.
Just keep an eye out for drones around you house. 
Jes kiddin'.
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rts551
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yes. Just about everything that happens to you when crossing the border is recorded.
This last time I crossed the agent said Mr... you have a new vehicle that hasn't crossed before..I answered affirmatively and she made some
notations in the computer. She then asked if I still had a house in Mexico. I answered affirmatively. So they keep quiet a few records on you from
previous crossings.
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TMW
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I think if a dog smells something on you again you will go thru the same thing again, that's the proceedure. Don't take it personal, it's what they
do. If you bit*h and complain they will just make it harder.
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Kalypso
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
As unpleasant as it was, I don't think this will follow you. You did nothing and nothing was found.
Just keep an eye out for drones around you house.
Jes kiddin'. |
Thanks Dennis, that's what I'm hoping happens
And you're right, I did nothing wrong and they found nothing, so it should be a non-starter. And I'll keep an eye out for those drones 
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Kalypso
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| Quote: | Originally posted by rts551
yes. Just about everything that happens to you when crossing the border is recorded.
This last time I crossed the agent said Mr... you have a new vehicle that hasn't crossed before..I answered affirmatively and she made some
notations in the computer. She then asked if I still had a house in Mexico. I answered affirmatively. So they keep quiet a few records on you from
previous crossings. |
You're right, and that's the part that actually scares me more than anything. I have no idea what information they already have, which won't reveal
much other than I cross frequently, and no idea what it will look like next time I cross.
Big brother is watching...as Edward Snowden has so unfortunately shown.
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Kalypso
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| Quote: | Originally posted by TW
I think if a dog smells something on you again you will go thru the same thing again, that's the proceedure. Don't take it personal, it's what they
do. If you bit*h and complain they will just make it harder. |
I did try not to take it personally. I knew they were just doing their job and I was being treated the same as everyone else. It's just a damn
intimidating process!
The agent that took me back to the main building did say I was the nicest person they'd had in there all day. I'm sure they get some doozies.
I do wish I knew what set the dog off, though
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mojo_norte
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Handcuffed ? seems a bit over the top. My thinking is some of the Border Agents are acting a bit - 'out there'
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Kalypso
I do wish I knew what set the dog off, though |
Probably the same hormones that set off a sixteen year old kid.
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J.P.
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Mood: Easy Does It
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Kalypso
| Quote: | Originally posted by TW
I think if a dog smells something on you again you will go thru the same thing again, that's the proceedure. Don't take it personal, it's what they
do. If you bit*h and complain they will just make it harder. |
I did try not to take it personally. I knew they were just doing their job and I was being treated the same as everyone else. It's just a damn
intimidating process!
The agent that took me back to the main building did say I was the nicest person they'd had in there all day. I'm sure they get some doozies.
I do wish I knew what set the dog off, though |
b-tch and Complain Loudly to anyone who will listen. How the heck do you think we got in this fix .We didn't complain loud enough.
[Edited on 7-8-2013 by J.P.]
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BajaBlanca
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wow....handcuffed? I would not be a happy camper 
Thanks for sharing and I hope it never happens to me.
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Kalypso
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
| Quote: | Originally posted by Kalypso
I do wish I knew what set the dog off, though |
Probably the same hormones that set off a sixteen year old kid. |
Dennis, you just made my day  Thank you
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Kalypso
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| Quote: | Originally posted by mojo_norte
Handcuffed ? seems a bit over the top. My thinking is some of the Border Agents are acting a bit - 'out there' |
It certainly caught me off guard. The agent said it was for both our protection.
Really? Like I'm really going to overpower or escape from a police officer who was at least 6" taller than me, 30 years younger with multple weapons?
The room they take you into is in a separate building and you have to cross the lanes exiting the vehicle inspection lanes, so they want to make sure
they've got you firmly under control. Plus the gate to get into the other buiding is combination controlled so they can't keep both hands on their
victim all the time. Had they just asked I would have gone with them with no hassel.
Never having been handcuffed before I found it to be a pretty disconcerting experience.
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aguachico
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Mood: logic cannot get thru to the illogical
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I do not believe it will be an issue for your sentri. Why? because drug dogs are not 100%. I have been boarded on my boat many times when entering
San Diego. I asked the CBP officer why they don't just bring a dog instead of trying to peek in every nook and crany. He replied that the dogs can be
easily distracted on the boat, also they can be overwhelmed by different scents. Also at the border, dogs get bored and tired. If the incident is
recorded, you would think having tested negative would be in your favor for future inspections.
Being handcuffed is a safety issue and in my opinion a good thing for everyone. What if you were a bad gal and the dog alert was for explosives and
not drugs?
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wilderone
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"Handcuffed ? seems a bit over the top. My thinking is some of the Border Agents are acting a bit - 'out there' "
You were arrested - the justification being the dog's "alert". Was your treatment "excessive force"? I worked on a case where a police department
dog "alerted" on a safe in a jewlery store, whose owner was suspected of illegal activity due to the number of nefarious looking patrons that came and
went. He was handcuffed and questioned - and he filed a lawsuit claiming infringement of his civil rights. The safe was empty, but they searched his
entire store without warrant. It's a fine line - a judgment call. Other factors must come into play, i.e., "the totality of the circumstances." In
your case, IMO, I think they erred on the side of caution - but they erred.
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DavidE
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Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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Be glad you weren't wearing your turban and very thick coat. HS and CBP are disconnected from reality. Their rewards and promotions come from paranoia
and suspicion. They know more about you than you do.
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by aguachico
Being handcuffed is a safety issue and in my opinion a good thing for everyone. |
In public, it would be humiliating for most people I know. In this case, perhaps some of that nasty "Profiling" would have gone a long way in the PR
response.
Of course, we're the only enemy some of those a-holes get to play with for an entire career, so they must be bored.
.
[Edited on 7-10-2013 by DENNIS]
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bajaguy
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Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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| Quote: | Originally posted by wilderone
You were arrested |
Actually, investigative dention, not an arrest.
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajaguy
Actually, investigative dention, not an arrest. |
That's like calling an ass-whipping, "Tough Love."
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Lee
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
| Quote: | Originally posted by aguachico
Being handcuffed is a safety issue and in my opinion a good thing for everyone. |
In public, it would be humiliating for most people I know. In this case, perhaps some of that nasty "Profiling" would have gone a long way in the PR
response.
Of course, we're the only enemy those a-holes get to play with for an entire career, so they must be bored. |
Cuffed people are less likely to run. If an uncuffed and detained person ran, officers would be justified in shooting. Mayby not. So, safety
is important.
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