Bridgeport PD: Bounty hunter assaulted local woman

<p>Bridgeport police say they have video of a bounty hunter physically assaulting a city woman without provocation at her own home.</p>

News 12 Staff

Aug 15, 2018, 6:46 PM

Updated 2,087 days ago

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Bridgeport police say they have video of a bounty hunter physically assaulting a city woman without provocation at her own home.
"I'm speechless, to be honest with you," says Bridgeport Police Chief AJ Perez. "Nobody deserves to be treated in that way."
The bail enforcement agent, working for a private fugitive recovery service, allegedly manhandled 43-year-old Mari Vargas at a home on Jane Street.
She says it happened the morning of July 11. Two agents came to her door looking for a woman who no longer lives here. Vargas, a mother of five, says she has no connection to their investigation.
Perez says bounty hunters have more leeway under the law than police do when it comes to the use of force, but he says the troubling part is that the video shows no physical provocation.
"I don't care if you're a criminal or not," Perez says. "You just can't assault people and get away with that kind of behavior, and we're definitely going to be looking at that."
No charges have been filed at this point.
Ryan McGuigan, the attorney representing the bounty hunter, released a statement that reads: "My client is an authorized bail enforcement agent and acted properly and within the law. Miss Vargas, who is a convicted felon, interfered with the apprehension of a fugitive from justice and later tried to extort $20,000 from my client in exchange for not going to the media with the surveillance video in question."


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