About 25 years ago, me and a buddy did a six week camping trip across the northern states, into Canada through Vancouver then back east. We were of legal drinking age and declared some beer we had when we entered Canada. All went well till we got to Ontario. We were pulled over in mid afternoon for no apparent reason. The rotund jolly cop asked what we were doing. We told him camping. He then asked if we had any firearms, the answer was no. Next he asked if we had any alcohol. We said yes, there is beer in the trunk. He went apes**t and told us we were under arrest and would have to go with him. He took my buddy in the squad car and told be to follow in our car. He was doing about 90 on the way to the station house. He confiscated the beer and we had to pay a fine. According to him, it was legal to buy beer and legal to have it in your house but it was NOT legal to transport it in your car! What a crock but we wanted to get going so we paid. Several hours later we had stopped by the side of the road to look at a map. We were trying to find a provincial park to camp at. We were miles from any town and as it was November, I was wearing a parka that came below my waist. A car pulls up behind us and my buddy says "its a cop, I'll go talk to him". I was still studying the map when the cop shines a flashlight in my face, asks for ID and tells me to step out of the car. I did what I was told, and he started to pat me down. I had a Buck 110 in a belt sheath. When he felt that he tensed up, took it, and told me I was under arrest for possession of a concealed weapon! Then he called for back up. They took us in and tore the car apart--to the point of removing hubcaps and air filter cover. They gave us a hard time about our ax, and we tried to explain we were camping.
I was wearing a Rolex and had two Nikons with me. In a snide voice, the original cop says: "you sure have a nice watch and camera equipment there, I sure hope you have some proof of ownership or you are going awaty for a long time". Lucky for me, I had gone to the Bahamas the previous spring and had registered my stuff with customs along with serial numbers before I went so I wouldn't have a problem coming back with customs. I had stuck the list in my wallet and forgotten about it. I pulled that out and you could see how disappointed he was. An older cop who had been very nice actually helped us put everything back in the car. The first guy said: "well I could still run you in on the weapons charge but whats the point". He then proceeded to lecture me about Canada being a civilized country and how knives like mine were not allowed. My buddy had a small two bladed Case and he said that was allowable. I was scared witless! I was in a foreign country and had no idea what my rights were. It ended well but left a bad taste in my mouth. Several points:
1. Although I was cuffed and put in a car, they were never physically abusive other than making the cuffs too tight.
2. After all that, they let me keep the Buck!
3. The car was an old Dodge with a center console that opened for storage. As I said I had been looking at the map when they nabbed me and had left it spread out over the console. That turned out to be incredible stroke of luck since I had a blackjack (not the knife kind) in there and they completely missed it in there otherwise thorough search. I guess if they had found that I'd probably be getting out of jail around now.
4. We were in downtown Montreal the next day and walked into a coffee shop for lunch. A guy was sitting at the counter with a 12" Bowie hanging from his belt. I looked at my buddy and said: "well, so much for whats allowed in this "civilized" country.
5. I was a very happy camper when we crossed back into New York and vowed I'd never go back. As it happens, I've never been back but I've softened my opinion a little. But I'll be damned careful what I take if I ever do go back.
phantom4
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who dares, wins
