New Legislation Proposes Regulations For Bounty Hunters

In Oklahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plain most of the time, lawmakers are working on legislation that would regulate bounty hunters throughout the state.

The Bail Enforcement and Licensing Act is almost exclusively the work of Republican State Senator, Ralph Shortey. It proposes licensing and guidelines for those who want to become bounty hunters.

This legislation comes on the wings of a recent mistaken identity case in which bounty hunters used a taser on Roger Latture, a Midwest City man and killed his dog. There was no denying the incident as it was all caught on camera and as it turns out, he was not even the man they were searching for in the first place.

In the words of Senator Shortey:

“I don’t know all the specifics of the situation but we’ve got a video that shows exactly what happened. This is the kind of stuff we are trying to fix.”

The two careless bounty hunters could be charged with animal cruelty and assault and battery with a deadly weapon. Their bondsman employer insists that the video vindicates his men from any wrongdoing.

The bill will be moving to the House for consideration and has already passed the Senate with a vote of 46-0.

Time will tell on this one.