Female bounty hunters are defending their actions when they faced off with a man whose bail had been revoked. INSIDE EDITION talks to all parties involved.
A dramatic showdown occurred as three women bounty hunters struggled to make an arrest.
Now, debate is raging about the face off. Was it a legitimate effort at collaring a wanted man or was it an outrageous assault on an unsuspecting victim?
Twin sisters, Lisa and Teresa Golt, former cops, and Ronnie Faciane, a one-time corrections officer, say they were taking no chances with a known felon.
Lisa said, "We're allowed to use enough force to affect an arrest."
The three pink-clad women run lipstick bail bonds in California.
They set out to arrest Daniel Duvall because his bail on drug-possession charges had been revoked.
Duvall said, "They think they're like above the law."
A recorded video of the incident began as the women, who say they record all their arrests, prepared to confront Duvall at an Arby's in Huntington Beach, California.
Duvall says he thought he was meeting the women just to do some paperwork. He claims he was unaware his bail had been revoked.
The showdown began and the bust quickly turned nasty.
Duvall said, "I didn't know what was going on."
A giant pistol one bounty hunter was brandishing actually fired rubber bullets.
Lisa said, "I hit him with the taser as he was running out the door to stop him from running."
The confrontation spilled into the parking lot, with one of the bounty hunters hanging onto Duvall's shirt.
Duvall screamed as he's hit with the rubber bullets and a taser.
Ronnie said, "He's screaming and flailing trying to get away. It's a fight."
Duvall said, "I just wanted to get away. I didn't want to hurt nobody."
As the women struggled in vain to subdue Duvall, one of them went flying while Duvall escaped to his car.
With a bounty hunter hanging onto the door, he backs up and drives away.
He says he may sue over his injuries, including a broken nose and damaged eye.
Duvall’s lawyer, Dan Gilleon, said, “Any force whatsoever was excessive because he never demonstrated any need for any force whatsoever.”
But the women told INSIDE EDITION a different story.
Ronnie said, "He chose to resist and fight and we were acting accordingly and doing our job.”
INSIDE EDITION’s, Jim Moret, said, “You used a taser, you used pepper spray, and you used rubber bullets. Do you believe that you used excessive force?”
Ronnie replied, “No.”
In the end, there are two very different versions of a dramatic showdown straight out of the Wild West.
