Posted on 08/04/2010 9:52:15 PM PDT by The Magical Mischief Tour
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tony Michello of A&A Digital Productions was hired by two bail bonding companies to document bounty hunters apprehending bail jumpers.
"It started out pretty simple, go out, no one puts up a fight, handcuff them," said Michello.
The bondsmen wanted to shop a reality TV show about bounty hunters. Michello said as the weeks went by more excessive force was being used to apprehend bail jumpers.
"Somewhere along the line something twisted, and the heat started to turn up," said Michello
As Michello's camera rolled he said he caught bondsmen kicking a man who skipped bail on charges of reckless driving. "They didn't identify themselves as bondsmen, when they opened the door they forced their way in. I was amazed that they could even do such a thing. That somebody wanted for a non-violent crime would be treated like that by any bondsman is amazing," said Michello.
Michello told Channel 4 News the final straw was when a bondsman identified himself as a federal agent to a woman whose boyfriend was wanted on a warrant.
"Yes, he did misrepresent himself to her that was a federal agent. That was it for me, I knew he was breaking the law. That was the last footage we shot for them," said Michello.
Rutherford County sheriffs detectives have viewed the raw footage, since some of of the incidents occurred in Rutherford County.
According to Michello, detectives are looking to see if any laws have been broken.
Situations like this are just too dangerous to allow. The safe way would have been for the bounty hunter to tell the cops where the suspect was, but he put everyone in the store in danger by playing cowboy.
I know I'm nuts, but I just never was geared to back down in situations like that.
In Nashville about two years ago a pack of bounty hunters busted into an apartment in South Nashville looking for a suspect who had jumped bond.
The apartment, it turned out was long since vacated by the wanted man and re-rented to another couple.
When the pack of bail agents busted in the homeowner thought it was a home invasion garbed up a pistol and shot three, killing one.
To make matters worse the bail agents stuck around only long enough to scoop up their wounded and dying, pile them into their trucks had fled to a nearby hospital.
They never called the cops, it was the homeowner who did and then the hospital staff who called them to report a walk in gunshot victims.
Which leads me to think they may of had intentions of not calling the police to report their mistake.
Personally I blame the police, and more specifically SWAT Teams and the no-knock warrants they so love to serve. For this mentality.
All the bail agents are doing is emulating the actions of Police and SWAT. Some like this story documents go so far as to make their targets think they are cops.
There is very little difference between bounty hunters and the criminals they work with...
In what clothing style did the homeowner garb up his pistol?
Anyone can get a card printed saying they have authority to do anything, This is one of the reasons cops wear uniforms.
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