An alligator loitering near a Lake County residence was apprehended by a pair of sheriff’s deputies earlier this month, with video released Saturday of their feat.
The video posted to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page shows two deputies who first encounter the roughly 6-foot-long gator at a residence’s front entrance back on Sept. 4.
“Dispatch received a call from a woman stating that there was an alligator on her front porch area,” the Facebook post reads. “Deputies responded to capture and safely relocate the surprise visitor. Not our first call like this… but it’s always a Florida classic!”
The gator then makes a run around to the side of the home pushing through an unlocked gate to the backyard with the deputies following with some caution, according to body-worn cameras in the video.
Drone footage then shows one of the deputies using a wire apparatus to snare one end of alligator. Then the second deputy does the same before the first mounts the gator to hold it down and clamp its mouth. The second deputy then tapes it shut.
The pair then transport it and load it into the rear seat of a sheriff’s office SUV followed by celebratory fist bumps with some neighborhood onlookers.
Comments on the Facebook post made light of the situation as well as praising the deputies’ efforts.
“Only in Florida does law enforcement carry alligator leashes,” reads one.
Another reads, “Whoa! Is Alligator Wrangler part of the police qualification in FL when applying? I think NYC has Sewer Rat Dodger as part of their qualification. Good job guys!”
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