For nearly seven weeks , the American public knew alleged police killer Matthew Eric Frein from a handful of images -- showing a seemingly clean-cut young man , sometimes dressed in a Cold War-era uniform and carrying a gun . But this week , they got a different glimpse of Frein . The bridge of his nose was cut and bloodied . His face was scratched . And he wore an orange jail jumpsuit . The new uniform is because of what happened Thursday , when a team of U.S. marshals took the 31-year-old survivalist and military buff into custody at an abandoned airport near Tannersville , Pennsylvania . As to the suspect 's abrasions , Scott Malkowski -- who took down Frein , accompanied by about a dozen other marshals -- told CNN they came about when these authorities tried to detain Frein and avoid the firefight many feared . `` We 're not playing around , '' Malkowski said . Capturing a dangerous fugitive . Authorities have acknowledged Frein got special treatment in some ways . After his arrest , he was shackled in the handcuffs of Pennsylvania state police Cpl . Bryon Dickson -- the officer that authorities say Frein killed on September 12 -- put in the backseat of the slain trooper 's squad car , then sent back to the barracks where the ambush on Dickson occurred . That 's not possible for every accused convict . Opinion : Were cops out of line in trooper-killing arrest ? But Malkowski said that Frein was n't treated differently -- at least differently than anyone on the FBI 's Top Ten Most Wanted List considered armed and dangerous , after having allegedly killed one officer and wounded another before melting into the woods -- while being taken into custody . When authorities approached Frein , the suspect had his chest down on the ground but his head was up looking at Malkowski , the marshal said . From a law enforcement perspective , that is just what you do n't want . `` Never have a fugitive look at you , '' Malkowski explained . Per law enforcement protocol , Frein was forced to be face-first on the asphalt looking away from the marshals ( so that a suspect ca n't anticipate an officer 's next move ) . In the process , his nose got cut and his face scraped . `` Sometimes things like that happen , '' Malkowski said . Most-wanted suspect taken into custody . An end to a tense 48 days . The U.S. marshal told CNN affiliate WPVI that his first sign of Frein came in the form of movement through nearby high grass and weeds . `` When I first saw him , I was like , 'What 's this guy doing in the field by himself ? ' `` Malkowski recalled Saturday . `` For a split second , I did n't think it was him . `` But then we had a sixth sense , I guess . I knew it was him . '' And so Malkowski and his team of marshals got closer , without the suspect apparently not knowing . Until , that is , Frein turned around and saw the law enforcement officers approaching him . `` I told him to get on the ground ... , '' Malkowski said . `` We just kept closing distance ( to ) about 5 feet away . `` I said , 'Who are you ? What 's your name ? ' And he said , 'Eric Frein . ' `` So ended the manhunt that terrorized many in northeast Pennsylvania over a tense 48-day stretch -- closing schools , canceling outdoor activities and prompting the halt to hunting and trapping . As many as 1,000 federal , state and local law enforcement officers scoured forests and thoroughfares looking for Frein . Normalcy returns to northeast Pennsylvania after manhunt ends . Authorities worried they would get the worst from an armed man with a reported history of police hatred , a man who had lashed out violently before and got away . In fact , while Frein was n't armed at the time of his capture , investigators later found a cache nearby that included a sniper rifle . The U.S . Marshal team that spotted Frein was well-aware of the worst-case scenarios when they went after him . Yet , Malkowski said , `` That 's what the marshals do . We hunt fugitives . That 's our job . ''
A U.S. marshal recalls the capture of Eric Frein at an abandoned Pennsylvania airport . He first saw movement in high grass , after which he and others approached Frein . Frein cut his face while face-first on asphalt ; `` we 're not playing around , '' marshal say . The marshal downplays the danger , saying it 's `` our job '' to `` hunt fugitives '' like Frein .