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When you are at your home, the most basic thing you would want is to be safe. Imagine how you would feel if you woke up at 6 am to your dog barking and someone pounding on the front door, only to find armed men standing there. Terrifying, right? This happened to a man in California who woke up to find several men surrounding his house, all wearing tactical clothing. They also had their guns drawn. You would assume that they might be police, especially since two of them had badges. They weren’t. Their badges forced the owner of the house to decide against bringing out his gun in self-defense. Keep in mind that these people were standing just outside the daughter’s bedroom. Absolutely insane.
The pounding wasn’t the only thing they did. One of them also pointed a flashlight at the owner to disorient him. When he confronts them, they refuse to tell him who they are. They then proceed to ask him if someone, they say his name, is at home. He doesn’t even know this name and has never come across it. After they refused to identify themselves, the owner finally realized who they were: bounty hunters. Imagine being woken up at 6 am by bounty hunters who are playing police and leaving your entire family terrified. They did all this to ask about someone who wasn’t even there. So they didn’t even do their job right.
What Happens Next?
Immediately, the owner took pictures of their license plates and called the police. As soon as he calls the cops, two of the bounty hunters leave in their cars, and only three remain. You would think that when police arrive, the bounty hunters would be held accountable for their actions. Well, that wasn’t the case because the police did nothing. They informed the owner that the bounty hunters had told them they would be in the area. According to the police, there is a case law that allows them “wide latitude.” So they are allowed to go to the wrong houses and terrify residents. The entire situation would frustrate anyone. It made the owner say:
“I am incredulous that non-sworn people with fake badges can swarm your house with guns drawn, feet away from where your daughter is sleeping, and we are all just ok with this.”
The good thing is that the owner refused to let this go without consequences. He obtained the bounty hunters’ business card from the police and discovered who their leader was. The father also contacted a lawyer, who quickly discovered that this wasn’t the first time they had visited the wrong house. In 2014, a lawsuit was filed against them for breaking into the wrong house and intimidating minors. Why are they still allowed to operate if they keep making the same mistakes? The owner did the right thing by filing a complaint and contacting his state representatives, who are yet to respond. The whole thing is sketchy, especially since two of the bounty hunters fled before the police arrived.
People Reacting to the California Bounty Hunters
The owner wasn’t the only one who was left livid by how the California bounty hunters acted. They shouldn’t get away with this. One person wanted the owner to find out the guys’ identities. “Yeah f**k that, send this to every news outlet and let’s find these f**king assholes. So many things could’ve gone wrong,” they wrote. They are absolutely right. This could have ended badly, especially if the owner decided to use his gun. Another person believed that police shouldn’t be allowing this to happen. “Law enforcement should be against this. It will ultimately make people less certain of who the police are, and who aren’t. And everyone’s less safe,” they said.
Someone else had the same feeling about how this was terrifying. “yikes that’s terrifying,” were their words. In addition to this, several people told the owner that the bounty hunters shouldn’t be allowed to enter anyone’s property without consent. One of them proceeded to advise people to have their guns with them. “Stay strapped folks,” they wrote. One Redditor even pointed out that a gang could act like the California bounty hunters and face no consequences. They said:
“What’s stopping a gang to play bounty hunters, come in your home, ransack and loot it, all the while not telling you anything as to what agency they are from and you have no recourse (you really got robbed but don’t know by actual robbers or some agents and no tells you anything).”
As someone else has replied, there is nothing to stop people from doing this. It’s not just that they went to the wrong house and terrified an innocent family. They also made the same mistake before, and this wasn’t enough to stop them. Someone should intervene before a disaster happens.
