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February 03, 2006
Man Hunters
Chris Barfield
Chris Barfield is a “man hunter.” That’s a strange description for a stock photographer unless you know that Chris has also been a veteran of the U.S. Marshals Service for the last seven years. The last three have focused on teaching Protective Operations in South America. Chris has had run-ins with homicides, child molesters, drug dealers, escaped convicts and even a chainsaw murderer. That’s why his images and stories for the national publication, SWAT Magazine, are a bit edgy.
Being fluent in Spanish, much of his time has been spent in Mexico, The Dominican Republic, Belize and Columbia. In 2005, he and his partner, Jeff Randall ( also a stock photographer), put themselves in harm’s way to study the Salvadoran gang wars and their effect on the country. Riding along with the select Salvadoran police force, called the Unidad Tactica Operativa (UTO), they set themselves down in the barrio to locate gang leaders from the two main groups: Mara Salvatruchas or MS-13 and The 18th Street, the name being derived from a street in L.A. The guerilla war of the early ‘90s bred most of these youth, who distinguish themselves by tattoos often covering their entire face, lips, head and ears.
In February of 2005 alone, there were 255 murders in El Salvador. The UTO police are well equipped with semi-automatic handguns, including several extra fully-loaded magazines. They also carry Israeli-made Galil rifles, fitted with folding stocks that facilitate use in confined urban environs and vehicles. As they pick up suspected gang members for intelligence gathering, they maintain a 360-degree ring of coverage.
As Chris describes, “There is no DMZ in the barrio. Every inch of real estate has been claimed by one gang or the other. Without exception, a simple encroachment mandates the killing of the violator. There is no respect for human life, as they are cold-blooded killers, who live for the gang only.” Chris’ study shows that “gang violence is actually on the decline in El Salvador due to the proactive and efficient work of these local police.”
Chris is proud to document the work of the U.S. Marshals in his photos, as they are the “oldest and most versatile federal law enforcement agency in the U.S. Today the U.S. Marshals’ main responsibilities are: Judicial Security, Fugitive Investigations, Witness Security, Prisoner Services and the Asset Forfeiture Program. They also have elite units in the U.S. and aboard.” Last year the Marshals Service apprehended 55 % of all federal fugitives; more than all federal agencies combined, including the FBI, DEA and ATF. If you are a fugitive, Chris guarantees that one day you will be greeted by “today’s best man hunters – the United States Marshals Service.
See more of Chris' images:
http://www.indexstock.com/store/search.asp?SearchStr=///direct 4097
Posted by Pat at February 3, 2006 06:41 PM
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