Border Patrol Checkpoint

[Checkpoint]

*  Make sure camera is in car and has good batteries at all times.

* Make sure passenger is comfortable with operating camera--or, if possible, switch with passenger so I can take the pictures while they drive.

* Get hands-free device for phone w/ good microphone to facilitate Porc411 calls while driving

* Instruct passengers beforehand on methods and items of observation--perhaps (especially if multiple passengers) assign specific items to each passenger to be observed (e.g. passenger 1 counts vehicles and notes info about each--make/model/special vehicle equipment/markings/license #s; P2 observes and counts personnel, taking note of names/badges/descriptions as possible, etc.).

A few other things to consider:

* Install an inverter in your car and get an AC adapter for your camera. This allows you to conserve battery power using them only for backup while running off of your car's electrical system. With a big enough inverter, you can also run additional electronics like laptops, audio recording devices, wireless network switches, etc.

* Find out whether or not Hew Hampshire allows federal agents to enforce State law so you know the limits of the lawful authority of BP agents at checkpoints within the State. In Arizona where I'm at, federal agents need to be cross-certified by the County Sheriff where they're operating to enforce State law and then only under limited conditions.

* Calling into Porc411 and leaving the connection up is a great way to proceed. It creates another audio record of the encounter that can't be readily seized by overzealous agents.

* Use velcro on your dashboard to hold your camera while filming & driving. After being stopped, you can then pick up the camera and use it without driving distractions.

* Keep your window rolled up most of the way and only cracked enough to hear what the agent is saying.

* Install a microphone on the exterior of the vehicle and feed it back into a speaker or recording system inside. This allows you to hear/record what agents are saying outside of ear shot.

* Know what legal recourse is available to you if things get out of hand.

* Decide beforehand under what circumstances you will allow your vehicle to be diverted to secondary for more intensive scrutiny. If you go to secondary, they have all the time in the world to mess with you. If you stay in the lane of traffic, they have to be concerned with how many vehicles are piling up behind you.

* Write letters of complaint to the local Border Patrol sector, your Congressional representatives, and State/local reps. Not because you expect any sort of reasonable response but rather to create a paper trail that can be referred to later if necessary to show a good faith attempt at addressing the problem.

All the video's I've posted on my Homeland Security checkpoint seizures can be viewed at:

http://youtube.com/user/CheckpointUSA  

Full write-ups of these seizures can be found at:

https://www.checkpointusa.org/blog/

with a commentary regarding their authority at checkpoints based upon the CBP Field Manual located here:

https://www.checkpointusa.org/blog/index.php/2008/03/13/p89

[doobie]

I just read about this on another forum where someone was stopped and had their trunk searched over the weekend.  It really really gets to me.  Next time I hear about one of these things does anyone want to head up and try to find it?  I say we load up the back seat of the car with firearms and try to it.  I'll stick the following:

"Am I under arrest?"
"Do you have a warrant?"
"Am I being detained?"
"Am I free to go?"
"Then I'll be calling my lawyer."

Anyone with me?

[Raineyrocks]

rainey, I found this on Speare  Memorial



New Hampshire in Focus
Published 2/28/2008 - 2008 Issue #03
by Christopher Dunstan, OT with Michele Barney Hutchi

Merrily Motoring Along

    A 34-foot motor home is parked just outside the gymnasium at Russell Elementary School, located in the rural foothills of central New Hampshire.  Inside, nine-year-old Andrew is diligently tying a series of knots in order to set-up a Tyrolean Traverse across the length of the motor home's mid-section, which has been converted into an occupational therapy gym.  Andrews's face clearly exhibits his focus and determination.  Once the line is set, he steps into the harness and clips himself on the line, ready to begin the next stage of the challenge.

    For Andrew, the Tyrolean Traverse is a reward for good behavior in the classroom-a modifier and motivator to help address behavioral problems related to his Attention Deficit Disorder.   For his principal, Susan Blair, Andrew's occupational therapy sessions in Speare Memorial Hospital's Mobile Gym represent opportunity and success.  "The resources are phenomenal in the Mobile Gym," says Blair.  "We could never have offered this in the school, especially on a winter's day.  I have noticed a huge change in Andrew in the classroom as a result of his OT sessions."

Leveling the Playing Field
    Located in Plymouth, New Hampshire, Speare Memorial Hospital (SMH) is a critical access hospital serving 17 area communities.  Speare's School Occupational Therapy Program was developed in direct response to local school district needs with one therapist providing services to children at three elementary and two pre- schools. Rolled out in September 2006, the Mobile Gym has enhanced the program, essentially leveling the playing field for all children being serviced, regardless of a school's financial or facility resources. It provides a higher level of intervention previously unavailable due to space and access limitations.

    Prior to the use of the Mobile Gym, therapy was conducted in a corner of a library, office space, or even hallways. Frequently interrupted, students' ability to make significant progress toward their goals was impacted.  The equipment and supplies necessary to provide therapy were limited to what could be carried into the school or stored in a small closet, which resulted in students in different schools receiving different approaches to intervention.

    "The Mobile Gym makes it so much easier to provide the students an appropriate therapy experience as all the tools are available," notes Thornton Elementary School Principal Jon Bownes.  "Before, finding space was our biggest issue and sessions took place all over the school."  Now, each child has access to a higher quality of intervention that can target specific sensory channels while minimizing distractions during therapy sessions.

Inspired Design
    The idea for SMH's Mobile Gym was triggered by a discussion with a parent who understands the limitations placed on school-based therapies.  She mentioned the concept of TumbleBus, modified school buses used as physical education classrooms, after-school gymnastics, or for birthday parties.  Further research inspired the idea of a mobile space that could be used as an occupational therapy gym and be driven right to a school.

    The plan began to take shape in the form of a retrofitted motor home that would support SMH's initiatives to enhance access to quality healthcare in the community. Significantly larger than a school bus, and more suitable for the demands of New Hampshire winters, a motor home offers a tremendous amount of storage space, and enables equipment and supplies to be at one's finger tips. 

A Dream Becomes Reality
    Thanks to a donation given to SMH to support community health initiatives, a Class A motor home with a slide out, was purchased, renovated and modified.  The gym area has a steel frame that was specially built and mounted to the chassis floor and supports multiple pieces of suspended equipment. The classroom in the back portion of the motor home allows children to easily move from gross motor skills to a seated activity where fine motor tasks prepare them for handwriting.  As needed, the Mobile Gym can further enrich the environment with music, scents, and dimmed lighting.

    Students who access the Mobile Gym are able to focus more fully on a challenge and increase the occurrence of specific adaptive responses.  The planning process required to cross a suspended obstacle course, using four to five different types of swings, has provided children with the opportunity to learn new ways to move.  Many students appear to gain a greater awareness of their bodies in space within a couple of months, due to the capability of the gym to tailor activities to their specific needs and tolerance on any given day.

    Notes Principal Bownes, "It is their special spot, and the students look forward to going out to the Mobile Gym."

    Children step back into the classroom with a greater sense of self and how they can move. School professionals better understand sensory integration in practice and how it is so important to a healthy school day. 

Christopher Dunstan is Speare Memorial Hospital's school-based occupational therapist and a certified evaluator for the Sensory Integration Praxis Test.  Michele Barney Hutchins is the community relations director at Speare Memorial Hospital.

Your awesome!  Thank you so much for finding that and posting it, now I don't have to worry about them doing secret experiments on little kids anymore.  It might sound paranoid but that's what I was worried about.  Thanks Pat, big hug!

[David]

Next time this happens, if possible 2-4 activists should all load up in a car and go through the checkpoint asking the questions referenced above.  Come armed with cameras.

I'll do this, just call.  Of course around my work times.    Pm me if you don't have the number. 

[FTL_Ian]

Next time this happens, if possible 2-4 activists should all load up in a car and go through the checkpoint asking the questions referenced above.  Come armed with cameras.

I'll do this, just call.  Of course around my work times.    Pm me if you don't have the number. 

I'm not aware of them happening around here in Keene.