[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 7 (Thursday, February 5, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E105]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E105]]



                       THE CITIZEN PROTECTION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ASA HUTCHINSON

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 5, 1998

  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to announce the 
introduction of the ``Citizen Protection Act,'' legislation designed to 
hold bounty hunters, and the bail bondsmen who employee them, liable 
for civil rights violations. The bill also requires bounty hunters and 
bail bondsmen who travel in interstate commerce to recover a defendant 
to report their intentions to local law enforcement authorities and 
provide whatever information is required under that state's laws.
  I believe this bill accomplishes an important public safety goal, 
namely keeping innocent citizens safe from the abusive actions of rogue 
bounty hunters, without creating a new federal bureaucracy or imposing 
any mandates on the states.
  Under current law, bounty hunters do not operate under the same 
standards required of law enforcement officers, which prohibit 
excessive force. Bounty hunters are free to break into the homes of 
people thought to be criminals in order to capture bond-jumpers, 
without any accountability to innocent citizens who may be injured 
because of wrongful and abusive conduct.
  In September 1997, five men claiming to be bounty hunters forced 
their way into a private residence, terrorized a mother and her 
children, and fatally shot a young couple. Despite the fact that the 
Arizona suspects turned out not to have been bounty hunters, the 
notoriety of the case brought national attention to flaws in the bail 
bond system.
  While not as publicized as the Arizona case, bounty hunter abuses 
occur more frequently than we realize. One such case from Houston, 
Texas illustrates why Congress needs to provide a legal recourse for 
innocent victims. In the Summer of 1995, Betty Caballero was beaten by 
a bail bondsman seeking to arrest another woman, Ms. Ruth Garcia. 
Because of the beating, Betty miscarried her pregnancy the next day. 
Although she brought suit against the bail company for the violation of 
her civil rights, the district court found that federal civil rights 
laws did not apply to the case and exonerated the bond company from any 
liability for the bounty hunter's behavior.
  Just a few weeks ago, rogue bounty hunters in Memphis, Tennessee beat 
up a high school student they mistakenly targeted as a bond-jumper. 
Last year, in anther case of mistaken identity, an innocent Kansas City 
man was shot three times by bounty hunters. And in the summer of 1994, 
an innocent New York woman was abducted by bounty hunters and 
transported to Alabama. The bounty hunters ignored the woman's protests 
of innocence. Three and a half days and 910 miles later, the bounty 
hunters acknowledge their error and paid for a bus ticket to send the 
woman back home. She also was not allowed to pursue a case for 
violation of her civil rights against the bail bond company or the 
bounty hunters.
  The Citizen Protection Act remedies these injustices by allowing 
abused individuals to seek redress in federal court. The bail bond 
industry is interstate in nature, and many of these abuses involve the 
transportation of victims across state lines. It is important to note 
that this bill does not create a new federal regulatory scheme or 
impose any mandates on the states. It merely provides remedial relief 
to those who are now slipping through the cracks of the justice.
  Many professional bounty hunters and bail bondsmen support regulation 
of their industry in order to drive out the rogue bounty hunters who 
undermine the industry's reputation and credibility. Law enforcement 
agents have also been supportive of the notification requirement, 
arguing that they want to be aware of bounty hunter activities in their 
jurisdictions.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe Congress can and should take this modest step 
and bring some accountability to the use of bounty hunters. That is why 
am I proud to be introducing this legislation with my colleagues 
Congressmen Charles Canady, John Conyers and Alcee Hastings.

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