Imagine you are home asleep at 2 a.m. and you hear violent banging on your front door. You see from your video security camera someone who looks like a single police officer attempting to break down that door. As you call 911 for police assistance, the individual at your front door enters your home and tries to arrest you.

Now imagine that when police arrive, they see you struggling with the person who broke into your home. The officers, believing he is a fellow officer, begin to assist him in your arrest, which ends with your being killed.

This scenario, although unbelievable, happened last year when a bounty hunter working for a bail bond company was sent to arrest a Palm Springs man despite the man not having any warrants out for his arrest. The bounty hunter shot and killed the man, David Spann, and now awaits trial for murder.

The bounty hunter himself, Fabian Hector Herrera, is a two-time felon who has no authority or right to carry or own weapons nor do work as a bounty hunter.

While the bail agents who hired the bounty hunter currently face enforcement action against their licenses, because of a gap in California law, the bounty hunter who pulled the trigger does not.

The fact that bounty hunters in California have limited training, minimal requirements and do not actually obtain licensing to act as a contracted agent representing bail bond companies is truly troubling. This is why I have authored Assembly Bill (AB) 2043, supported by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, to add training and licensing requirements to an industry that lacks basic oversight.

AB 2043 will help to protect the public, law enforcement, and those being sought by bail bond companies. Currently, bail fugitive recovery persons, as bounty hunters are formally known in California, face few requirements under California law.

New requirements under AB 2043 would hold bounty hunters to the same scrutiny as the bail agents who hire them, including fingerprint-based background checks, testing and passage to obtain a license, maintaining an appointment with a surety insurer and verification by posting of names of licensed bounty hunters on the Department of Insurance website.

Shockingly, while bounty hunters under law can perform “citizens’ arrests,” minimal training is required compared to police officers. Yet the stakes can be just as high.

The bill, if enacted into law, would ensure only those who receive the proper power-of-arrest training can perform a citizens’ arrest.

And by requiring bounty hunters to obtain liability insurance, as private investigators and security guards must now, AB 2043 will help further protect the public from undue harm and property damage.

All of these steps will help prevent future tragedies.

As the chair of the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee, I recognize the value of rehabilitation. While having a criminal record is not an automatic bar to licensure, it is an important factor that the Department of Insurance evaluates before granting or renewing a license.

The department has a strong record of holding bail agents accountable and working with partners in law enforcement. It needs the same authority over bounty hunters.

There is an inherent danger to public safety when rigorous training and oversight, in any industry, is the exception rather than the rule.

Many of us can recall the “reality” television program, "Dog the Bounty Hunter," with a sense of having been entertained and generally satisfied with tactics used to apprehend suspects.

The true reality is bounty hunters can at times cross the line from public safety into public endangerment when it comes to the manner by which they track, apprehend, and remand subjects while in public and private spaces — with tragic results.

Advancement of this bill is imperative to public safety.

I, along with Lara, am committed to ensuring this line of work does not endanger the lives of the subject, the bounty hunter, members of law enforcement or innocent members of the public.

AB 2043 is scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Public Safety committee on Tuesday and, should it pass, in the Assembly Insurance committee on Wednesday, at 9 a.m. both days. I encourage members of the public to watch the committee hearings by visiting Assembly.CA.gov, and submit a letter via CAlegislation.lc.ca.gov/Advocates to express your support for the bill.

Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer represents the 59th District, which includes the communities of South Los Angeles, Exposition Park, Florence-Firestone, and Walnut Park, and serves as the chair of the Public Safety Committee.