Dog the Bounty Hunter was once involved in a wild pepper spray stunt that even upset Colorado police
Duane Chapman debuted as 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' in 2004. The popular reality show was mired with controversial moments throughout its eight seasons. In 2011, Chapman faced charges for excessively using pepper spray on wanted criminal Andrew Distel during an altercation. According to DailyMail, Mesa County Sheriff Stan Hilkey rebuked Chapman for following theatrical tactics in dealing with fugitives. Hilkey labeled the reality star's actions as "profit-driven peacockery" and additionally mentioned in a blog post, "While Dog stayed outside, shirtless and sweaty, prancing back and forth waving his golden locks for the camera, his team brought this freshly pepper-sprayed fellow into the enclosed space of the Sheriff's Office lobby with other citizens present. They also brought him in injured."
The Colorado sheriff outlined the need to de-contaminate and medically clear fugitives who had been chemically sprayed before bringing them to the jail, "especially (for) injuries that are inflicted by a non-governmental employee subject to no policy or use of policy restrictions." Chapman failed to execute the protocols and irked the concerned authorities. However, Distel was later booked into the Mesa County jail for failure-to-appear warrants on drug possession charges. This is not the first time the A&E network star displayed his 'celebrity status' while dealing with hardcore criminals.
Breaking news! In a bizarre case of mistaken identity, Dog the bounty hunter wrongfully identified Trace Johnson as the fugitive Brian laundrie, The dog proceeded to pepper spray the shit out of Mr. Johnson before giving him cigarette. No charges will be pressed at this time.
— Isaac Lamb (@Lamb_Ram) October 17, 2021
Hilkey later criticized Beth Chapman who had blamed the deputies for not putting Distel in jail until he was de-contaminated. "There's no special pass for their celebrity status," the County Sheriff said. The same year TMZ caught 'Dog' using crude language while attempting to nab a wanted suspect. "Come on white boy..come on white boy..come on white boy..come on mother f**ker!!!" he was heard screaming during the major scuffle at La Montana Linda Restaurant in Breckenridge, Colorado. One of his team members was also heard saying, "I'm not a superstar ... I can f*ck you up and not get charged." It was reported that Chapman's team indulged in a nasty brawl with the patrons at the restaurant, which was all captured on camera.
As per Reuters, in 2003 Chapman escaped serious punishment after violating Mexican laws to nab rapist Andrew Luster. Similarly, in 2007, he was accused of making racist comments about his son's Black girlfriend, which led to a brief suspension from the reality show. Only after Chapman publicly apologized to the Black community did A&E start filming again. As per People, in 2021 Chapman denied using racist slurs, "I have never been a racist. I'm 33 1/2 percent Apache," he told in an exclusive to Entertainment Tonight. "I thought I had a pass in the Black tribe to use it, kind of like Eminem," he added while explaining the reason behind his public outbursts.
"I had just gotten out of prison in 1979 after spending 18 months in Texas, and it was probably three-quarters from the Black tribe," Chapman concluded. "So, that was a word that we used back and forth as maybe a compliment. My pass expired for using it, but no one told me that. To say a racist name doesn't qualify to make you a racist."
