A duo of folk music based in Halifax says that the police that stopped them on an Ohio road earlier this month accused them of having drugs in their rental car and questioned them about their loyalty in a strange interaction that lasted almost an hour.
The Cassie and Maggie Macdonald sisters of the Cassie and Maggie group were driving a rental car on the 70s and were talking on the phone with their mother when they noticed a police cruise following them. Cassie Macdonald said the police car followed them for half an hour and then a second cruise joined and activated their emergency lights.
“We stopped immediately. And then, from there, things became strange and strange,” MacDonald told CBC’s New Scotland Mainstreet In a telephone interview on Thursday, counting the incident of March 5.
After delivering the information of his license, Macdonald said they were told that his car was going to look for narcotics. Finally, he said, the officers told them that the car had “positively hurt” for narcotics and separated, and each led to a different cruise to be interrogated.
“And yet, we really had no indication of why they had stopped us first. And so it was there and we were both interrogated separately,” Macdonald said.
“They were very worried, my officer who was talking to me, about the fentanil and he was giving me a conference almost about how much it comes through Canada and that is a big problem.”
She said the officer asked which narcotics were in the car. She replied that there were no narcotics in the vehicle and said the officers registered the car and found nothing.
“And he returned and was a bit curious again and I had the feeling that we were not really welcome. That was a kind of general impression,” he said.
At that time, Macdonald said, he was asked: “What do you prefer? Canada or America?”
He took the question by surprise, he said, remembering that he felt he was being tested.
“I said we love the United States. We have been touring here for more than a decade and we have a scattered family in many states that we visit while we are on tour. And we feel very close to this country and we have always been very welcome here. And that seemed to satisfy it enough and let me out of the car.”
Macdonald said that all the interaction lasted about 45 minutes and a warning to drive distracted was issued. She admitted that they had been passing their mobile phone from one side to another while in speaker mode while talking to their mother. At some points, said Macdonald, his sister had held the phone while driving.
Macdonald said the second officer had asked Maggie a similar question about whether he preferred Canada or the United States.
She says they were both shaken by the meeting.
The sisters said that this is the first time they have had an experience like this while they toured the US. Uu. They previously toured the country in December without problems, but this time things felt more tense.
CBC News contacted Guerensey County Sherrif’s Office for comments. In an email, Major Jeremy Wilkinson said that the incident media coverage is “false reports and hatred of hate.”
Wilkinson said that the agents involved “were extremely professional and friendly” and had reasons to stop the Macdonalds‘Automobile rental for distracted driving due to its use of a phone while driving.
“While our deputy talked to women about where they played music, they told him that they played in Canada and the United States … and the deputy simply asked if they preferred Canada or the United States when it came to play music. A question that people from different parts of the world are used every day when they joined.”
Wilkinson added that it is routine to place drivers in the back of patrol vehicles, since they cannot be in the vehicle when a drug detector dog is used to smell the car. He said they were put in patrol vehicles for their own safety, since it was a cold day and that they were next to a road.
Despite their encounter with the law, the sisters say they plan to continue on tour in the United States
“Take out and feel scared due to an interaction not really tracks with our band … we love our fans and feel that being there and acting and sharing our stories and music is the best remedy for this situation,” said Cassie Macdonald.
