Police say 11 bounty hunters with two fugitive-recovery companies were looking for a fugitive wanted out of Oklahoma when they swarmed the home of Phoenix Police Chief Joseph Yahner while following up on a tip they received via social media.
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When the bondsmen were told the man they were looking for was not at the residence, they refused to leave. Police say that Brent Farley, 43, and 10 others, thought they had a fugitive wanted on a drug charge cornered.
The bounty hunters, which consisted of more than 11 people from two companies, were looking for a fugitive from Oklahoma, whom they were informed was at the residence of Yahner. Phoenix police spokesman Trent Crump said there was no physical altercation.
Several men banged on the door and shined flashlights into windows, demanding that Yahner exit the home.
Phoenix Police officers responded to the home where they found two vehicles parked on the Chief’s property with lights shining on the home.
“Open the door”, an unidentified man repeatedly shouted as a truck pulled up and blocked the driveway.
Someone inside the home, presumably Yahner, grows increasingly agitated with the bounty hunters as they continue to scream at the front door. That something was a baton, Crump said. And they are not hindered by rules that typically govern law enforcement, such as needing to go before a judge for a warrant or a subpoena.
They screamed, “Bail recovery!” Burns has been working to push a bill that would require both, he said.
Now authorities are investigating the source of the tip. Police said in no way did he match a description of the occupants at the home.
“This isn’t indicative specifically of this profession”, Crump said.
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She knew something was wrong when they chased her up her stairs and demanded to get into her apartment to look for someone she had never even met.
