Here's the SF Chronicle Article:
Duane 'Dog' Chapman Faces Calif. Suit
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Thursday, August 17, 2006
(08-17) 17:38 PDT San Francisco (AP) --
Television bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman, who spends most of his days tracking fugitives who skip court appearances, might have to make a few court appearances of his own.
A lawsuit filed by a Daly City man in U.S. District Court on Wednesday seeks unspecified damages from Chapman and his Hawaii-based group of bondsman, the A&E television network and police.
The suit filed by Simaile "Cisco" Lutu, 29, claims the group wrongly tried to apprehend him when trying to snare a bail jumper who played for the Daly City Renegades semipro football team. He said police then continued to target him.
"This is reality TV run amok," said Lutu's attorney, Jim Hammer, also a television legal commentator.
The lawsuit claims the incident began when Chapman's son tried to grab and restrain Lutu, thinking he was suspected drug dealer Samu Savea. The elder Chapman conceded that Lutu wasn't his fugitive.
Chapmans son tried to grab and restrain one of the players, but it wasn't the fugitive - who wasn't even at the team practice on May 24, 2005. It was Daly City nightclub promoter Simaile " Cisco" Lutu, 29, whose mood quickly soured.
"Hey What are you doing?" the 6 foot 5 Lutu said on film, easily pushing away Leland Chapman, who is much smaller. Lutu added "Y all about to see Dog f---up."
The elder Chapman conceded that Lutu wasn't his fugutive from Hawaii, a 6 foot tall suspected drug dealer named Samu Savea, and left saying, " Be safe."
The lawsuit says the following day Daly City police, who were working with Chapman, handcuffed Lutu and held him at gunpoint at a health club. The lawsuit charges that Lutu was later handcuffed and held at gunpoint again by Daly City officers in a second incident.
While neither of those incidents was aired, the encounter at the Daly City practice field was featured on this year's season premiere - even though Lutu refused to sign a release for the use of his image, the lawsuit says.
When people intimidate and harass other people just to make money, it's outrageous," Hammer added. "We suspect this has been going on for some time and we intend to find out how often."
Chapman, 53, told the San Francisco Chronicle that he was surprised by the lawsuit. "Cisco called me right after the show and said, 'Thanks Dog, all the girls love me now,'" Chapman said.
The lawsuit also claims that Lutu refused to sign a release for the use of his image but that the episode featuring his encounter with "Dog" still aired on this year's season premiere.
Chapman said he was not present when Lutu was allegedly detained by police at the gym and the nightclub. And he said he was not involved in the decision to air the park scene.
"All I do is bounty hunt," he said.
His wife, Beth Chapman, questioned Lutu's motives and suggested that he was not an innocent party during the hunt for Savea. "Today, he decides he's mad?" she asked. "When should you be mad, brother,? I see that as opportunistic."
A second plaintiff, whom Chapman questioned abourt Savea on camera in South San Francisco, claims his appearance on the episode damaged his reputation.
On the show, Chalman first flew to the Bay Area after gettinga tip that Savea played for the Renegades. He called the suspect, who had eluded him for three years, " the thorn in my flesh."
He appeared to catch Savea in Pacifica after a few days, but in fact, the lawsuit states, he returned to California to make the capture two months later.
When handcuffed on camera, Savea seemed surprised by all of the attention. "It not like I shot somebody," he said.
Nearbay, Beth Chapman broke into tears.
"Call the judge," she shouted into a cell phone.
Chapman became famous in 2003 for capturing convicted rapist and Max Factor heir Andrew Luster.
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The text in italics was added in from the actual San Francisco newspaper article. The online version is in regular text.
Information from: San Francisco Chronicle,
www.sfgate.com/chronicle
