Public perception of bounty hunters seems to fall somewhere between Batman and Travis Bickle. They're either heroes who take up the slack where the legal system fails, or they're dangerous rogues and a public menace. In either case, no one seems to quite have their facts straight when it comes to just what bounty hunters are and what they can and can not do.
As of late, this question has been increasingly on the minds of Buffalonians. Last week, Buffalo Police Officer Robert J. McLellan gave his life in the line of duty while aiding bounty hunters. Five bounty hunters from Frederick, Maryland called 911 while pursuing Rastesfa M. DeCosta, 21, a suspect who they believed was armed, and several officers responded to the call. McLellan chased DeCosta after the suspect fled a Metro bus on the Kensington Expressway, dodging the early drivetime traffic. DeCosta made it. McLellan did not. He was hit by a car and later pronounced dead at Buffalo Memorial Hospital.
DeCosta has been charged with manslaughter. The bounty hunters were freed after questioning to return to Frederick, cleared of responsibility for the incident.
The incident has resparked a debate over the role of bounty hunters in the criminal justice system, and just what rights they have in New York State. Depending on who you talk to, bounty hunters either have no more rights than normal citizens, or they have a mandate to do just about whatever they need to do to bring a suspect back to justice.
Two cases within the past year have caught the public's imagination, and fed their fears. One was in Arizona, and another struck close to home in Cheektowaga. Last September, five men claiming to be bounty hunters broke into a home in Arizona and shot a young couple to death in front of three children. Later it was discovered that they were burglars, using bounty hunting to escape charges if they were caught. No bail bondsmen had sent the men, and they weren't bounty hunters, but it was enough to give bounty hunting a black eye and put it in the national spotlight.
Another family fell prey to a case of mistaken identity in Cheektowaga last February when four men pushed their way into a home. Reportedly, they said they were special agents looking for a suspect. In reality, they were bounty hunters, looking for the brother of the woman who answered the door. It was her house, not her brother's. Her brother wasn't there. The woman later filed a criminal complaint against the men for trespass, and the case was dismissed.
Anyone can be a bounty hunter in New York State right now. No license or training is required, and anyone with a love of adventure and a secret desire to be Dirty Harry can hang out their shingle. With the body count and the horror stories piling up, the public is starting to get nervous. When the public gets nervous, so do the public officials. In the aftermath of the McLellan case, Police Commissioner R. Gill Kerlikowski called for a state law to regulate bounty hunters.
State Senator Dale Volker seems especially prescient in light of current events. Two weeks ago, the senator introduced a bill in the Senate that would change the way bounty hunters are required to operate in New York. Specifically, the bill would mandate that bounty hunters be licensed and trained, and that they notify police in the proper jurisdictions before they take action. They would also be held liable for damages caused by their actions.
The bill, which initially received little fanfare, is now publicly supported all the major political power players in the area. Attorney General Dennis C. Vacco, Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark, Mayor Anthony Masiello, Assemblyman Robin L. Schimminger, D-Tonawanda, and Senator Sam Hoyt, D-Buffalo, all came out in support of Volker as the bill was brought to light.
The fear of bounty hunters comes not from the fact that they have more rights than police officers or the average citizen, but that they have less responsibility. They can search a skip's home without a search warrant and can fire back if fired upon. They also don't have to identify themselves when entering private property or read a suspect their Maranda rights as policemen are required to do.
Bounty hunters derive these powers from Taylor vs. Taintor, an 1872 Supreme Court decision. It is also known as the "Rule of Taylor." Bail bondsmen, who put up bail for defendants in exchange for a percentage of the bond, contract bounty hunters to bring back a client who fails to show for court. The Supreme Court decision found that bail bondsmen and bounty hunters have limited police powers when retrieving a skip. However, since bounty hunters work for the bondsman, not the state, they aren't bound to protect the constitutional rights of offenders, as are policemen. Bounty hunters are bound by contract, and not local, state, or federal laws, to bring the client back.
There are caveats to these powers. Bounty hunters can only break into the suspect's personal residence in the course of a normal investigation, and this is only because the suspect has agreed to a civil contract that puts him in the custody of the bail bondsman. If bounty hunters break and enter a third party residence, they are subject to any penalty or legal action that normal citizens are subject to for their actions. The only time bounty hunters can break into a home is during the actual pursuit of a suspect, which can still lead to liability for the hunter. Hunters also have to carry a pistol permit if they carry a gun, and have to turn the suspect over to the police once taken into custody. Indeed, they can't collect if they don't turn over the offender.
Taylor versus Taintor has been challenged many times, even as recently as 1994 in Landry versus A-Able Bonding, Inc., but the ruling has never been overturned.
Charles Carr, professor of law at the University at Buffalo, says the relationship between a bail bondsman and a bounty hunter is, "A contract relationship, for the most part." Specifically, it's a civil contract, and that's where it gets tricky. Bounty hunters may be liable for civil damages if they destroy property or break into the wrong house, but can usually avoid criminal litigation or penalty.
But how much of a problem are bounty hunters in New York State? Despite the political posturing and stories floating around the media, there doesn't seem to be much of a history in Western New York of bounty hunters presenting a threat or problem.
Since bail bondsmen lose their entire profit if they don't bring an offender back within a year, there is a priority on efficiency, and most take measures to avoid a client ever fleeing. A bounty hunter will generally take ten to fifteen percent of the bond, sometimes plus expenses, to bring a suspect back. That can add up if too many clients take it on the lamb.
Mark Bonfante, a local bail bondsman, says his business rarely uses bounty hunters. He says he uses them, "on occasion, when we've exhausted every measure to get them back in court. The need just doesn't arise around here." Of 400-500 bonds he posts in a year, only a handful are a problem.
Generally, friends or family will sign a contract, which makes them financially liable for the bail if the suspect leaves. That usually makes them more than willing to help find the suspect, especially when the bail is set high. The next step is to contact private detectives to find the suspect, and if that fails, the bounty hunters are called in.
Delores Gist, who runs another local bail bond company with her husband, doesn't use bounty hunters at all. If the suspect is local, the police take care of the problem themselves and bring the person in for their court date. The only reason she would need to employ a bounty hunter would be if a client headed for a different jurisdiction, and that doesn't seem to happen often enough to be a problem. "Some, but not many, leave the state," she says.
Police spokesman Lt. Duane T. Rizzo says he has dealt with possibly three cases in the past dozen years or so where bounty hunters have been a problem. However, he still believes they should be regulated. Rizzo believes their tactics are sometimes less than professional. "We can't have people running around like vigilantes out there," he says. He stresses the need for communication between bounty hunters and local law enforcement to avoid problems.
Surprisingly, most bounty hunters, who prefer the term "recovery agent," are all for legislation regulating agents. Dominic Farinella, a member of the National Association of Bail Enforcement Agents, thinks legislation like that proposed by Volker is a step in the right direction. He acknowledges that there are people who, "take courses and think they're supermen, that's what's wrong with the industry."
Those are the types of situations he believes uniform legislation would help eliminate, making his profession safer for the majority of recovery agents who don't step out of line. He says he and his team always notify police before taking action as a matter of safety, as well as good will. His biggest fear is being shot in the back on a scene because a policeman didn't know he was a recovery agent. Thus, he and his team wear uniforms indicating they're recovery agents and call for backup.
Farinella also trains bounty hunters for the NABEA, and says his students go through the duties and responsibilities of the job step by step, from soliciting a bail bondsman for work to the apprehension of a suspect and cooperation with police. He believes the role of the recovery agent is to help an overworked and understaffed police force clean up the streets. "We're on the same team," he says, "And the majority of the police know that."
Bounty hunters do have definite advantages over police officers in how they approach suspects and what they're allowed to do. For one, Farinella says, bounty hunter always know the suspect they're hunting, and aren't obligated to pick up anybody but the suspect they're being paid to haul in. In that respect, they target is more focused than the average officer on the street trying to put a name or a face to a particular crime. Farinella's team will usually do 6 to 7 hours of research on a skip before they attempt to bring him or her back. They know exactly who they have to look for. They don't have to prove anything - just find their man.
Still, it's important to remember the police are the primary authorities. Bounty hunters can only bring in a suspect once they have jumped bail, and that can only happen after the police have already caught the suspect. Bounty hunters and police may need each other more than either camp realizes.
Heroes or rogues, bounty hunters are a part of the system.