With an estimated 1.3 million alligators in Florida alone, it’s fair to say that everyday life encounters with the toothy reptiles can be pretty common. That said, it’s not exactly normal to find one swimming around in a pool in the backyard, right? Well, a sheriff’s deputy found himself in this very predicament, but instead of contacting an experienced trapper to deal with the situation, he took things into his own hands… quite literally. Indeed, the deputy fished the gator out with his own bare hands, and the wild video is circulating online right now.
The footage comes by way of NBC News, and has since been shared to social media platforms like Reddit. The 39-second snippet of video takes place in a St. Augustine resident’s backyard, where a live alligator can be seen splashing around. Using a police body camera to record the incident, the deputy lifts the angry gator out of the pool by grabbing his neck with one hand, and gently throwing it onto the side of the pool’s edge. “I got you. You’re fine. I know, you’re so dramatic.” exclaims the police official as he picks up the alligator again.
“Well, I’ll load him up into the back of my car and I’ll take him to a pond.” the man coolly says to onlookers gathered around his pool. They all look very impressed by his dangerous stunt, with one declaring, “That was so cool!” The remaining video sees the man placing the gator into the back of his police cruiser, and the funniest thing is, he puts a seatbelt on the wee reptile for its safety. Thankfully, the alligator is a baby, and isn’t too large and aggressive.
With the daring clip making the rounds online right now, netizens were left in awe. One Redditor joked, “The seatbelt lol” while another chimed in, writing, “Looks like the gator is getting arrested“. Elsewhere, another commenter quipped, “He was just out for a swim and got assaulted by that officer! Police brutality is getting out of hand“.
While the incident occurred just over a week ago, on July 25, Deputy Nathan Richardson from St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office will go down in history as a local legend for dealing with this “unwanted guest” with courage, fearlessness, and a touch of gutsy showmanship.
