US Customs run amuck?!?

[kellib36]

Not sure how many people have seen this, its local news around here, in that Riverton is "only" 300 miles (5 hours) from here. If all you're worried about with Customs is what's in your bags...look out!!

Marshmallow bust haunts woman on cruise
By Catherine Wilson, Associated Press Writer | June 18, 2004

MIAMI -- A teacher's aide who forgot to put away her marshmallows and hot chocolate at Yellowstone National Park last year was taken from her cruise ship cabin in handcuffs and hauled before a judge Friday, accused of failing to pay the year-old fine.

Hope Clarke, 32, crying and in leg shackles, told the judge she was rousted at 6:30 a.m. by federal agents after the ship returned to Miami from Mexico. She insisted that she had been required to pay the $50 fine before she could leave
Yellowstone, which has strict rules about food storage to prevent wildlife from eating human food.

Customs agents meet all cruise ships arriving from foreign ports and run random checks of passenger lists, and a warrant claiming Clarke had not paid the fine was found in the federal law enforcement database.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Outerbridge conceded there were some "discrepancies," but suggested to the judge that Clarke appear in court again to clear up the warrant.

U.S. Magistrate Judge John O'Sullivan, who had a copy of a citation indicating the fine had been paid, apologized to Clarke, who spent nearly nine hours in detention, and demanded that the U.S. attorney's office determine what went wrong.

Zach Mann, spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, called the arrest "an unfortunate set of circumstances." He added, "We were acting on what we believed was accurate information."

 

[Stepharoonie!]

 

[missinshadow]

over marshmellows and hot chocolate. yet killers get out on parole.

 

[paulmc80]

Can you imagine if it was a Big Mac and fries she forgot to dispose of instead? Probably would make handcuffs and leg shackles look like a joke.

Glad they are keeping this country safe from $50 fine dead beats.

(Writing check for my $200 in over due library book fines)

 

[LarryC]

Your anger and disbelief are misplaced. The United States Customs Service did nothing wrong here. They checked the passport of a returning traveller and found that there was a warrant issued for her arrest. THEY DIDN'T ISSUE THE WARRANT!

It is the duty of any Federal Law Enforcement Officer to take into custody anyone they find with an outstanding warrant. They are not the judge. They only are officers of the court, instructed to uphold the lawful court order of the judge who issued the warrant.

If you want to mock someone, why not start with the US Forest Service or the United States Park Police or whatever agency who issued the ticket/fine or made the rules about "No food in Yellowstone" in the first place. Or the court officer who negelected to make a note in her electronic database that she had paid the fine.

Every one of you owe the USCS an apology. Shame on you.

 

[mickeyfan1]

Go Larry. I agree 100%. A mistake was made, but the Customs Agent had no way of knowing that. It may seem silly that this woman was arrested for a seemingly innocent error, but at least there is a data base and at least it is being used.

 

[crisi]

And the initial error may have been innocent, but I would mock the National Park Service for insitituting it. Yellowstone had huge issues with bears becoming "friendly" to get food from tourists. But bears aren't tame, all tourists don't have common sense, and it doesn't take many encounters between bears and humans involving food before someone gets maimed by a bear.

Mock the clerk who didn't enter payment of the fine into the database, or whatever happened so that her payment did not get recorded. And, God knows, I've made errors in my job - I'm not throwing that stone.

 

[paulmc80]

I don't intend on making this a debate and apologize if my light hearted comments hit a nerve. I'll just make this last comment here. My point was basic: Pay your fines.

I've always felt a little humor can be a good thing. Especially in sad situations. And, not eveyone will agree with that and its fine with me and I will certainly not agree with everyone. I don't see any reasons for me to apologize for anything to the U.S. Customs Service. My apologies if you feel offended.

I work in law enforcement for the State of Hawaii. I know the realities. I for one feel there is a much better way to handle someone wanted on a warrant for an unpaid $50 fine.

Thank you.

 

[ChibiJones]

Mock the clerk who didn't enter payment of the fine into the database, or whatever happened so that her payment did not get recorded. And, God knows, I've made errors in my job - I'm not throwing that stone.

ITA, but with the caveat that if they had been sending her notices & she ignored them, then I think she is in the wrong.

I camped at Yellowstone when I was a kid & we took those bear warnings very seriously. The curtains on our van were kept closed, all food was sealed up tight, and our coolers were underneath pillows and sleeping bags.

 

[anlashokna]

<<Glad they are keeping this country safe from $50 fine dead beats.>>

Good to know someone is doing there job. Whether the person fined felt it was in the right or not.

A warrant is a warrant. Unpaid fine is an unpaid fine. Simple as that.

It's hard figure out where to draw a line from riduculous to necessary. Someone can draw that line then the cycle starts over again. There is no winning.

Customs was doing there job. Whether one person feels it was unjust or wrong it still comes back to the argument that will have to be dealt with in court.

Sorry for the gal and don't quite understand the treatment because customs agents know what the fine was and that she doesnt exactly sound like a flight risk. But then again, wasn't there and don't know how she responded to be taken into custody.

Sad topic all the way around. Will have to remember to make sure I have no outstanding warrants, never know..went to Yellowstone 5 years ago didnt take inventory of the marshmellows.

 

[justmestace]

I agree that if the fine wasn't paid, it was her fault. I agree that if the fine WAS paid, and she was still taken into custody that it wasn't Custom's fault.
BUT.........

We have had our own share of problems with US Customs, and the fact that given a little power, some people will take great advantage.

My husband and I were returning to the US from the Dutch Caribbean. We were stopped by Customs in Miami and held in a glass room with an armed guard, and were NOT told why.
We look like (and are) your average American Mom and Dad.

After an hour (luckily, we had a MUCH later flight home), we were brought out of the booth by a young, new female Customs Agent. She would not tell us why we were being held. She only said they were checking into an outstanding warrant for my husband, and until they heard back from the issuing county, we were under "her" control. She searched our bags, tossing things around like a mad woman.
She consulted with a couple of other agents, wandered around, came back, and finally told us that the warrant (my husband has never been arrested, nor has he ever committed a crime) was for stealing a car from a county that we have never been to in our state....
She said that the name matched, the address of the criminal matched our address, and the social security number (of my husband) was the same. We guessed that someone had stolen my husband's identity. She didn't care.
Then we over heard one of the other agents tell her that she had no legal rights to hold us. She let us go with a warning that my husband would get "caught" eventually.
We were then stopped and searched on every leg of our trip home.
We went to the sheriff's office here, and asked them about it. We wanted to know why no one had come to arrest my husband at work, which is one block from the police station here, if the address matched, etc. They had nothing in their data base at all, and suggested that we contact the county that wrote the warrant. We did.
It turns out that the warrant was issued years and years ago to someone with the same first initial as my husband, same last name........BUT.......they had no address for the guy, no social security number, NOTHING else. And no one from Customs had called them, like the agent told us she had.
So...in other words.....SHE LIED TO US...and tried to hold us against even US Customs own rules.....and the only thing we can think of is that she wanted a "bust" on her record.
We carry a letter from that county now telling Customs that it is not my husband....just in case we get stopped again. But, we've been in and out of the country three times since then, and have never been stopped again.
In my opinion, I believe that Customs should concentrate a little more on keeping the terrorists and drug smugglers out of our country, rather than someone who may or may not have stolen a car 12 years ago.

 

[anlashokna]

That's actually interesting.
Were you travelling on passports? It sounds like the names that were flag on every airline awhile back. I don't remember how many times this one guy was pulled off the plane or over at security because of his name matched one that the TSA was watching.

I've heard some stories like this before though. Actually I would have probably filed a complaint or protest against US Customs for such unproffesional treatment. They have a right to detain but not to make such a comment insuating your guilt. Definately would have got her name and badge number. Especially when another one said they didnt have any legal ground to hold you. Sheesh.

 

[justmestace]

Yes, we were using our passports. But we had I.D. that showed my husband's full name, and they only had an initial for the other guy. The agent flat-out lied. They had no address for the bad guy. And no, we didn't get her name. We were late for our plane by then, and so upset and confused...worried that someone had stolen his identity.....
We had a little star on our plane tickets after that, which is why they checked us every where else. I got to see back rooms at airports that I never knew existed!!
If we knew then that she was lying, we would have really pitched a fit....but she said the address matched, so the only thing we could think was that someone was using my DH's name. We didn't have much to stand on then.
Live and learn.