Etymology 1

Noun

1. A taxman, one who gathers taxes.
2. A sheriff’s officer, usually one who arrests debtors.

Noun

1. An implement formerly used for seizing and securing a man who would otherwise be out of reach.
   • 1843, Henry Shaw, Dresses and Decorations of the Middle Ages, W Pickering 1843:

     The use of the catch-pole is said to have been to take horsemen in battle by the neck and drag them from their horses.