Manhunters

"The bottom line is that guys like Mike and Reggie are taking felons off the street," Beane says. "Even Fox and Morrison were taking down a guy who was dangerous enough to warrant a $50,000 bond."

Lachman concedes that that attitude is a powerful defense for people in the criminal-catching business. He has brought criminal cases against bounty hunters before and watched as prosecutors, grand jurors, or trial jurors have reduced or dropped the charges.

In 1992, in a case that received scant attention, Lachman brought aggravated kidnapping charges against two Dallas bounty hunters who abducted a woman and used her as bait to capture her former husband.

According to Lachman's report, they impersonated police, handcuffed the woman, and told her they would "blow [her] fucking head off" if she didn't comply with their demands. The men received 10 years' probation for kidnapping in a plea bargain.

"The trouble is, I don't have law-abiding victims," Lachman says. "They have prison records, or they're in crack houses. It's crook-on-crook stuff that nobody cares about. If this was happening in North Dallas in white neighborhoods, people would be up in arms."

In the face of some serious efforts to enforce the law--and reduce the likelihood of amateur shoot-outs or the kidnapping of grandmothers--Armstrong says he tries to be as "pro-active" as possible without putting himself in a situation that might lead to prison.

Spellman is a bit more confident that people understand what it takes to do the job. "I've been at this 14 years," he says. "I've personally kicked many doors and grabbed many fugitives, and never have I let a person get hurt.