BLAINE, WA — A British Columbian man who wanted a U.S. border inspector to say please got a face full of pepper spray instead.
Desiderio Fortunato, of Coquitlam, B.C., says he thought the guard who told him to turn off his engine Monday at the Pacific Highway crossing was rude and asked him to say please.
The 54-year-old says he was stunned and blinded as he was sprayed, pulled out of the car and handcuffed.
He was detained about three hours.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Mike Milne says it was a lawful order that travellers must obey but the use of force is under review.
Fortunato crosses the border two or three times a week to visit his second home in Blaine, Wash., and says inspectors are mostly courteous.
With files from the Canadian Press and the Associated Press
