Bounty Hunter Duane 'Dog' Chapman
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This is a partial transcript of "The Big Story With John Gibson," February 21, 2005, that has been edited for clarity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DUANE "DOG" CHAPMAN, HOST, "DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER": Someone hook him up for his last rite. Ten years, Floyd Chapman. You should change your name, boy. Come on, I'm a Chapman, the original D-O-G. You're going to Oklahoma, son. You're going to a motel without a window.
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JOHN GIBSON, HOST: His reality show is the top-rated program in the history of the A&E network. Now Duane "Dog" Chapman is out sharing his story and motivating other bounty hunters and bail bondsmen and women. FOX's Jane Skinner is here with the story of "Dog."
JANE SKINNER, CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the story is from bounty hunter to T.V. star to motivational speaker. Is this a great country or what?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Duane "Dog" Chapman made headlines, you may remember, when he caught fugitive Andrew Luster. He was that Max Factor heir. And his fame certainly has lasted a whole lot longer than 15 minutes. "Dog," as he's known, joins us now from Las Vegas.
"Dog," thanks for being here. I understand you were in Vegas to give a one-hour — what they dubbed, an inspirational speech to some of your fellow bounty hunters, some bail bondsmen and women. What was the message there? What did you tell them?
DUANE "DOG" CHAPMAN, BOUNTY HUNTER: Well the message was, of course, to thank them. And my message was against the guns. I'm completely against guns, but I explained to the bounty hunters and the bonds people that you can use weapons but that are non-lethal.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The whole object of our job is to get the man incapacitated, put handcuffs on him and put him in jail. If you need a gun, call a police officer. And so, I think it went over real good. About 80 percent of the brothers and sisters agreed with me. And we had a very good time.
SKINNER: Well tell me about the reception overall from this group. This group, you know, a lot of those people haven't always been so fond of you. Some have called you a reckless renegade and giving their profession a bad name in the past.
CHAPMAN: Well, you know, you can't judge a book by its cover. And you know, when I walk into a bank, sometimes they hit the button. So I expect that. You know, until they saw the A&E show and saw how we really do it, and now their opinion has completely changed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}SKINNER: Really? So you found it was pretty positive then?
CHAPMAN: It was very positive. I had a ball.
SKINNER: Dog, tell me about the idea of regulations for bounty hunters. You know, somebody may watch your A&E show and say, "Hey, I can go do that. I can go grow some long hair, knock down a door and say I'm a bounty hunter coming to get you." But you know, some have said state to state, the regulations are just too varied. We need a federal law and these bounty hunters should pass a test, you should be required to have some sort of training. What do you think?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CHAPMAN: I think that's absolutely correct. We're taking human beings to jail. We need to have some kind of certification, some kind of registration and some kind of training. I think there should be — if you've been convicted of a felony within the last 15 years, you shouldn't do it.
SKINNER: Well, that's interesting too, because some have suggested you shouldn't have a criminal record at all, but as our viewers probably know, you do have one in the past.
CHAPMAN: Right, mine is 30 years old and I've captured over 7,000 fugitives and maybe it's because I know how they think. I mean, if I wouldn't have been doing what I'm doing, there's 7,000 people who would have gotten away and how many victims would they leave behind? Once you've proven 15 years is long enough then you can become a bounty hunter, give you some kind of goal to go after. I mean, just because they're convicted of a felony one time in your life, you can't just dump them and they're scum forever.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}SKINNER: Dog, we just have about 30 seconds or so and I want to get to this spring, which brings the third season of your show in March. And also in May I understand, there's a big event coming up.
CHAPMAN: Yes ma'am, thank you. May 20, I'm marrying my common law wife Beth, marrying her the Christian way. And our show's third season is March 21 and I promise you, it is unbelievable, it's great.
SKINNER: Well some have called it a cross between "COPS" and "The Osbournes" and a little bit of "WWF" thrown it. Dog, thanks very much.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}GIBSON: All right, Jane, thank you.
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