Reality television star and bounty hunter Duane Chapman, better known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, called for law enforcement to adopt the use of non-lethal alternatives to lead bullets in an interview with ‘Fox News Primetime‘ Thursday, citing a 43-year career of apprehending fugitives without ever shooting and killing anyone.
DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER: We’re starting a campaign right now, it’s called, and here’s how you get a hold of us: taketheleadout@gmail.com. I’ve arrested over eight thousand fugitives in a forty-three-year career and have never shot anyone and killed them. We’ve used all non-lethal weapons. We’re going to get the lead out of the bullet and replace it with rubber and or wood. I’ve shown a thousand arrests on different networks in America in the last 15 years and I’ve been attacked (by) … machetes, shopping carts, guns, knives. I’ve shot a lot, but I’ve never killed (anyone) because on my team you will not use a lethal weapon. It’s not the gun that kills or the officer. It’s the lead in the bullet.
(Police officers) shoot someone right now, you got a problem. So let’s take the lead out of the bullet and let’s protect them. And you’ve seen me do it thousands of times. I’ve been attacked by armed fugitives, felons running at me, and shot many with non-lethal weapons. It works. All you need to do is get them down so you can cuff him. You need to stop killing them. And I don’t think they’re killing them on purpose. As you know, brother, there’s no such thing in America. When you go to a police academy as trained, you know, train them to wound. All police are trained to kill. So let’s take the lead out of their bullet.
I think this is a bipartisan bill. Who’s going to want to keep the lead in so you can kill someone? Who’s going to do that, and that will separate the men from the boys. I think every cop in America, every citizen, we got to stop them. They’re coming at you. They just robbed a store, kidnapping someone, you got to stop them. A wood bullet, a rubber bullet will stop them just like the lead bullet. But they will not die. Of course, unless you hit someone right in the head. You hit someone in the head with anything and it’s going to kill them. But you got to get the lead out of that bullet.