Who is Garry Chapman? All about Dog the Bounty Hunter's police officer son as he’s placed on administrative leave following a fatal accident

Dog the Bounty Hunter’s son, Garry Chapman, has been put on paid administrative leave by the Alabama Sheriff’s Department after he was reportedly involved in a chase that ended in the death of a teenager, according to the Daily Mail. Garry, 24, is a corrections officer with the Priceville Police Department, Alabama.

According to the outlet, Chapman was chasing an alleged suspect named Archie Hale in Hartselle, Alabama, on September 6, for a "moving violation." However, the latter’s car hit another vehicle, sent it through an intersection, before it crashed into a ditch. Hale is currently injured and is admitted to the hospital.

The entire incident left multiple people hospitalized, including Noah, Gavin, and Braxton W, and ended up killing a 17-year-old boy named Tristan Hollis. GoFundMe pages were launched for all of them, according to What’s Happening in Hartselle community page on Facebook.

Other details of the case remain undisclosed. The matter is currently under investigation.

In the wake of the tragedy, the deceased’s grandmother, Beth Campbell Vinson, shared his photo over the weekend on social media and wrote:

“It’s so hard to believe! My sweet 17-year-old grandson, Tristan Hollis, is in Jesus' arms. He passed away from injuries he sustained in a horrible auto accident last night in Hartselle. Please, please pray for my daughter, Rachel, our family, and the Hollis family. Thank you for your prayers.”

Everything you need to know about Garry Chapman

According to the Daily Mail, Garry Chapman, who was born in February 2001, is the son of bounty hunter, former bail bondsman, and reality TV personality Duane Chapman and his fifth wife, the late Alice Elizabeth “Beth” Barmore. Beth passed away in June 2019, aged 52, from stage II throat cancer.

Garry has an elder sister, Bonnie Joanne Chapman, and a maternal stepsister, Cecily Barmore-Chapman.

In April 2025, he was featured on the “Officer Spotlight” on the Priceville Police Department’s Facebook page. During a Q&A session, Garry Chapman shared that he’d been working as a corrections officer for the last three and a half years.

Dog the Bounty Hunter’s son also mentioned he is a full-time college student who was awarded the Outstanding Student in Criminal Justice Award earlier this year. During his free time, Garry Chapman likes to go to church, spend time with family, and focus on his fitness sessions at the gym.

He mentioned that the best thing about being a law enforcement officer was the support they received from the community, adding, “I love The Cross.” Garry Chapman also credited his father, Duane, as his inspiration.

“Even though he wasn’t in law enforcement, he always lived by the motto: ‘Leave people better than you found them.’ Watching how he treated others and carried himself with integrity made a huge impact on me. I knew I wanted to follow a path where I could make that same kind of difference. Law enforcement became that path for me,” he stated.

In August 2023, al.com reported that Garry Chapman found a missing child on his first day as a certified patrolman, near a traffic stop in DeKalb County, Georgia. The boy had been reported missing for over a week in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

That same month, Duane attended Garry’s graduation from the Northeast Alabama Law Enforcement Academy.

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Garry Chapman also has other half-siblings from his father’s side, as Duane Chapman, 72, had multiple children with six different women. Last month, Dog the Bounty Hunter was in the news after his stepson, Gregory Zecca, 38, accidentally shot and killed his 13-year-old son, Anthony, at his home in Naples, Florida.

Gregory was later put on a 5150 psychiatric hold to prevent him from taking his own life, according to TMZ and Daily Mail. He is the son of Duane’s sixth wife, Francie Frane, and accompanies Chapman on his bounty hunting.

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