Canadian woman angry over Georgia strip-search for a traffic violation

[IChing]

Carleton University student Cheryl Kuehn is outraged about the way she was treated by police in the state of Georgia. She says she was strip-searched and locked up for 12 hours, all for running a stop sign and speeding.

Kuehn, 23, who has just completed her master's in social work, was traveling to Florida with her husband, brother-in-law and a friend.

They had just pulled out of a restaurant parking lot along the I-95 in New Brunswick, Georgia, when Kuehn was pulled over for speeding and failing to stop at a stop sign.

When the officers learned Kuehn was a Canadian, they decided to take her into custody until she could post bail and until they could confirm with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency that she was legally allowed to be in the country.

When she arrived at the detention centre, Kuehn was fingerprinted and ordered to strip and shower.

"They wanted me to shower and I kept trying to avoid it because I was really scared and I don't like getting undressed in front of people. But eventually, it was inevitable and I had to go and have a shower in front of someone and get this lice treatment put all over me and -- it was very humiliating,"



http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070412/strip_search_070412/20070412?hub=Canada

[Pierre.Suave]

1. She looks very attractive

I wonder if there was another motive for making her strip and shower.

Whatever the reason, it is disgusting behavior.

[angstlessk]

23. When I was about 20 years old and got into a fight with

my husband after leaving a bar, I was arrested for 'disorderly conduct'..and STRIP SEARCHED...I know it was for the amusement of the male cops...not then..but many years latter when I realized they had no reason to arrest me in the first place...and no reason to strip search me in the second place....I was released immediately AFTER my 'search'. They DO IT FOR FUN...

[AX10]

48. You should have refused to strip down.

[11 Bravo]

57. Ever been arrested?

In Georgia? If you refuse anything you get your ass kicked and are then charged with resisting arrest.

[AX10]

46. You are probably right. Seeing that this is Georgia...

:puke:, this kind of "good ole boys" behavior is part of their inferior culture.

[Joanne98]

2. I'm waiting for people from civilized countries to boycott this place.

Just don't come to America and spend any money. See how the fuckers like that.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Won't happen, almost only way to

travel to other places in the Americas

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

26. Which countries would those be? n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. ah the smell of diplomatic incident in the morning

but this is due to the xenophobia encouraged by our feds

Oh and I am shocked that they did this to somebody who is NOT a minority... just imagine....

there are days I'm ashamed of my country, and Miss, I am also afraid of my authorities

[Ian David]

20. Maybe there was a minority-type person traveling with her?

Or perhaps the Georgia authorities just thought she had a purty mouth.

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. Ah yes, she might have told them where to stuff it

unfortunately it sounds like southern cops, from small towns

(go ahead folks call me on the stereotype)

Or perhaps just small town cops anywhere in the US... still embarrasing

[w4rma]

43. She is one o' them "liberal" Canadians. They're almost as bad as the French to many Rethugs. (nt)

[Atman]

5. Gotta watch out for those crafty Canadian terrorists disquised as hot blondes!

I would have had her strip and shower, too. But it would have had nothing to do with arresting her!

:hi:

.

[burythehatchet]

10. looking for snooks, presumably

[Ian David]

21. If it was in New York, they might have sodomized her with a plunger. n/t

[NormanYorkstein]

49. in NYC, the plungers are reserved for Black men

[TheCowsCameHome]

6. Great way to promote tourism in the Peach state

What jerks.

[Snotcicles]

14. Chain gang recruitment tactic. nt

[Ilsa]

58. I was thinking the same thing, but I suspect Canadians might go

ahead and generalize her incident cross the country (the US, I mean). Seems just as probably to happen in Texas, but I have no idea if there is some new immigration law or paperwork at play.

[MADem]

7. Did the sherriff look like Jackie Gleason in Smokey and the Bandit?

That old "separate treatment for Canadians" thing is a bit interesting....hell, don't ya get documentation when you come over the border? She had hers, apparently.

I think she should sue--it would be a nice payday for her, and it would cause those idiots to think twice before they pull that shit:

"One of the officers told me that I guess a lot of Canadians will go across the border and they won't pay their tickets. So now it seems like what they're doing in Georgia is they're arresting you and putting you in jail and making you post bond in order to pay for your ticket, which I think is humiliating," she said.


"They treat anyone who is not an American as an illegal immigrant. They don't even look at your passports, because when you look at the front page of the passports, it says that we have protection because we are cleared by our country, but that's not even valid.

"So they need to change something so that they actually acknowledge passports so they don't need to do this immigrant check for tourists."


Georgia corrections officials agree the situation was handled poorly and say Kuehn should have been released within an hour of her arrest. Glynn County Sheriff Wayne Bennett told the Ottawa Citizen that this is the first time a foreign national has been detained so long on such minor violations.

"And it damn well better be the last," he said.

Bennett added that some of the officers involved could be disciplined over the matter. ...

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Well let me add some of the steps these so -called cops

should have followed

1.- Contact the nearest Embassy... I am assuming that the embassy is closer than the consulate

2.- Fill up a form, required by the ICRC, detailing the detention and the reasons why. (Hell as a medic I had to fill these forms regularly south of the border and I know cops in california are taught off it...)

3.- Advise her of her miranda rights, never mind she is not a US national, she is subject to the most basic protections of the US Constitution


4.- Due to the misbehaviour (even if the sheriff is right, many foreigners will go across the border and never post their fine, and does not matter where this happens to be), last time I checked Georgia was NOT a border state... perhaps my geography is off.

What they did is rather abusive.

[dysfunctional press]

15. in smokey and the bandit 2- sheriff justice's cousin is a canadian mountie...

for what that's worth.

[MADem]

18. Bwahahahaha!! So we'll see, in the next chapter of this tale, some

Mountie roughing up and detaining a flower of Atlanta in rude fashion!!!

Somehow, I don't see that happening, though. Dunno why!

[ClintonTyree]

33. Doubtful any of these rural cops have ever seen a passport....

let alone knowing what meaning they have. Exit ramp towns are notorious for their "traffic enforcement". People are usually confused enough trying to get back on the Interstate and these cops know that. It's the main source of income for some of these backwater towns. It may seem like an unfair stereotype but it's true as true can be.

[Joe Chi Minh]

54. Don't they think the West Bank is the other side of the Mississippi?

[Delphinus]

8. Thirty some years ago,

I heard from those who traveled Georgia (and Alabama) that Georgia had earned a reputation as a place not to get stopped (due to what the cops, especially in small towns, would do). Anyone know how big of a city New Brunswick is?

[Shipwack]

24. "City" is being charitable... big town is closer to the truth.

I used to be stationed near there, in Kings Bay. New Brunswick is a large town, not a bad place to shop at or occasionally visit. I can even guess the stop sign she ran, to, having almost run it a couple of times myself. The one I'm thinking of is near the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

It has all the southern small town attitude you'd expect... Then again, compared to the towns south of it (Woodbine, Kingsland, St Mary's)it is a model of cosmopolitan geniality and friendliness.

[Canuckistanian]

36. Yup. We here in Canada are always told to avoid Georgia. If we can.

Not officially, but lots of people we know who travel to FLA. say this about Georgia.

Just spend as little time driving though there as possible. Without speeding, of course.

[w4rma]

44. Seriously? wow. (nt)

[Canuckistanian]

56. As soon as you cross that GA border, just keep on moving

Until you reach FLA. That's what I'm told.

[Captain Hilts]

9. She should sue them until they're cross-eyed. nt

[babylonsister]

12. Ditto that sentiment. nt

[CrazyOrangeCat]

11. Whole buncha somebodies need to be fired.

thugs.

[Jonathan50]

16. America is a police state at this very moment.

I have proven it here on DU at least twice now.

http://sync.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x551686

[kenny blankenship]

17. Welcome to America, policeman's paradise

empty your pockets and get up against the wall.

[Captain Hilts]

25. Actually, Canada has fewer restrictions on police. The RCMP don't need search warrants. nt

[achtung_circus]

30. Says who?

Warrant to search a home?, warrant to arrest?, warrant to search a car?, warrant to search a person?, Feeney warrant, warrant to draw blood?, DNA warrant?

Please be more specific.

[Captain Hilts]

32. I know to search a home they don't.

I lived there for 4 years. Canadians do not have the inherent distrust of government we have.

This is why the Mounted Police "always get their man."

[achtung_circus]

37. Pull the other one,

it's got bells on it.

In order to search a residence, unless exigent circumstances require it, a Criminal Code 487 Warrant must be obtained. There are provisions for telewarrants, obtained from a Justice of the Peace over telecommunications systems. A "Peace Officer", which includes the RCMP as well as the Provincial forces, regional forces and municipal forces, cannot even enter a residence to execute an arrest warrant unless they have reasonable and probable grounds to believe the accused is within the residence, hence Feeney Warrants.

http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/news/nr/1997/febkg.html

On May 22, 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada delivered its decision on R. v. Feeney. The Court ruled that, as a general rule, police required a warrant to enter a private dwelling to arrest someone. The decision overturned existing case law that did not require the police to obtain a warrant to enter if the arresting officer had reasonable grounds to arrest someone and, prior to entering, indicated his or her presence, authority and reason for entry. The Supreme Court of Canada found that, in this situation, the privacy rights of Canadians under the Charter were not adequately protected.

You may have lived here, but this is what I do.

[Captain Hilts]

41. I lived there in the 80s and 90s. Notice the phrase "overturned existing law,"

I didn't pull it out of my ass.

I hope you are more tactful in Real Life.

[achtung_circus]

42. .

"I know to search a home they don't."

Present tense.

My citation is R. vs Feeney, and specific to entry for arrest. The general CCC Sec 487 Search Warrant provisions are nothing new. I can't enter an attached garage without a warrant unless exigent circumstances dictate. Even a garage connected by a breezeway qualifies as part of the residence and has for a very long time.

Me, tactful? Depends who you ask, I guess. I try to be, honey and vinegar, you know.

[kenny blankenship]

35. Warrants don't mean jack in this country (USA) anymore

they don't need any warrant to search your person or vehicle when they stop you--and they can stop you for anything. Decline to "voluntarily" let a policeman search your vehicle in "a routine stop" and, depending on his whim, he will simply put you in his car, probably with your hands cuffed behind your back, while he gets a search warrant over the radio. You can put up a struggle for your rights, but don't expect to win. You won't win on the spot, and you probably won't win later. If they want to search you, they will. "Needing a warrant" amounts to an nearly empty formality, a slight interval spanned in a minute or two by a cop phoning home with a report that you "look suspicious" or "acted evasive", or you "match a description", or "seemed intoxicated", or that you were belligerent and mouthed off to him. Vague, subjective--and possibly arbitrary and false criteria--can put a warrant in a cop's hand faster than you can say probable cause.

[Cha]

19. Yeah! I'd be ANGRY TOO.

Oh, that's good for tourism in the state of Georgia.

[Benhurst]

27. She looks like a nice young woman. I trust she has learned her

lesson and will never come back to BushAmerica again. Recommended #4

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

28. Pretty and blonde and Canadian

that was the reason they did this to her. Reminds me of some Illinois cops who were caught videotaping strip searches of pretty blondes pulled over for non-existant violations.

[iamthebandfanman]

29. wow

so wait, they care'd about a canadian being here illegally when they can walk onto almost any farm in the south and find illegal mexicans ?

oh , i forgot, canadians are instantly labled a liberal... that couldnt have anything to do with it could it ? ;)


p.s.

i love canadians.

[1620rock]

31. The cops are going nuts again like they did in the 60's. eom

[seabeyond]

34. yes they are. and out of fear, we (not me) are allowing it. n/t

[Eric J in MN]

38. They shouldn't arrest people just because they don't know...

...if they're here legally.

At very least, a cop should need proof that the person is here illegally. And even then, writing a ticket may be more appropriate.

[BrklynLiberal]

39. If she had not been a young attractive blonde woman, there would have been no strip search.

The cops there were plain and simple...disgusting thugs looking for a few cheap thrills. I hope this little "prank" costs them all, very dearly.

[entanglement]

51. OTOH

if this had been a speeding African-American male they might have used deadly force and gotten away with it, without a mention in the media. Not many things worse than a hail of lead headed someone's way.

[AX10]

53. The most "dear" thing for them would be their lives.

Just sayin.....

[ncabot22]

40. Digusting!

This Canadian won't be going to Georgia anytime soon.

[alarimer]

45. fucking pigs

Gotta strip search "them dang furriners", don't you know?

[Blackhatjack]

47. It is all part of the new Tourism Campaign Aimed At Canadiens...

They no longer have to wonder what it is like being abused by American law enforcement, now they can experience it first hand (even though they are Canadian citizens).

Come on down!!!.... see our jails from the inside.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

50. probably french canadian. Good for Georgia cops

NOT!


What will it take for America to wake up to the fact that police states harm everyone? And that we now suffer from one here?

[entanglement]

52. Apparently she was detained because of a new Georgia State immigration law

Disgraceful.

[GETPLANING]

55. They just want their f****** money.

Most small town traffic enforcement departments will make tourists post bond on a ticket because they know that once the tourist leaves, they won't get their MONEY. It's just that simple, folks. The only people more dishonest than the mob are the cops.

[tom_paine]

59. As we grow more BushPutinist, our cops are becoming more casually savage

Barbarity is one part of trickle-down that works.

[cullen2382]

60. I live in Georgia and am not surprised

I live in the suburbs of Atlanta but am originally from Illinois. The arrogance of the police and the whole legal system down here shocks the hell out of me. Here in the city that I live there is a 17 year old black male in jail for 10 years for sexual molestation for receiving consensual oral sex from a 15 year old. They refuse to rehear his case and Sen. Johnny Isaakson has even been on record for saying this punk got what he deserved. Here in Georgia, nothing surprises me anymore.