Posted on 07/23/2014 8:41:32 AM PDT by Gunpowder green
DES MOINES, Iowa —A central Iowa Boy Scout troop just returned from a three-week trip they will likely never forget.
About 10 days into the trip, an innocent action by one of the nearly two dozen Scouts at the Canadian border into Alaska set off a chain of events that lead to a U.S. border official pointing a gun at a scout’s head.
Boy Scout Troop 111 Leader Jim Fox spelled out what happened to him and the Mid-Iowa Boy Scout Troop 111 as four van-loads of Scouts and adult volunteers tried to drive from Canada into Alaska.
Fox said one of the Scouts took a picture of a border official, which spurred agents to detain everyone in that van and search them and their belongings.
“The agent immediately confiscated his camera, informed him he would be arrested, fined possibly $10,000 and 10 years in prison,” Fox said.
Fox said he was told it is a federal offense to take a picture of a federal agent.
Not wanting things to escalate, Fox said he did not complain.
Another of the Scouts was taking luggage from the top of a van to be searched when something startling happened.
“He hears a snap of a holster, turns around, and here’s this agent, both hands on a loaded pistol, pointing at the young man’s head,” Fox explained.
Fox said that had them all in fear.
Ultimately no one was hurt or arrested, and after about four hours they were allowed to continue their trip into Alaska.
When he thinks about what happened to them and the fact there are people streaming across the southern border, Fox is outraged.
Charles Vonderheid with the Mid-Iowa Council Boy Scouts of America said Troop 11 learned a valuable lesson.
Read more at: http://www.kcci.com/news/boy-scout-from-iowa-is-subject-of-alaska-border-dispute/27102496#!bkxdWU
(Excerpt) Read more at kcci.com ...
It was in reverse for us in the 1970’s Canadians were anal and American agents laid back.
When I was a kid in the 1970’s my family went to visit an uncle in Detroit area and we decided on a day trip into Canada. When crossing into Canada the Canadians had a fit because we didn’t have luggage even though my uncle tried to explain he was a Detroit resident and showed them his drivers license and explained he was driving because he knew the streets better and we were not spending the night.
We ended up having to pull over and listen to a rant from a Mountie wanting to know where all the children’s birth certificate were? My Dad was like wtf? Why would I carry those around with me on vacation? This went on for an hour and finally Dad said call this number and ask for the assistant chief of police he will vouch for me and my family as to our identity. It was our uncle who at the time was asst. chief of police in our hometown and the damned fools actually called our hometown police dept. to verify who we were in 1978!
I have relatives current and retired in law enforcement, and I hate to say it but badges, uniforms and guns go to the heads of many officers out there and if it is at the federal level look out attitude on steroids!
That law has been around for a long time.
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