Gator grapple: Deputy grabs gator from pool, detains it in cruiser

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A sheriff’s deputy in Florida got his man, make that gator.

Body camera footage shared on Facebook showed the deputy from the St. John’s County Sheriff’s Office grabbing a gator from a backyard pool in St. Augustine, Florida.

The deputy can be heard telling his prisoner, “I know you’re mad,” before reaching into the pool and grabbing the gator by the neck, pulling it out of the water with his bare hands.

The slippery gator landed on the patio before the deputy grabbed it again, carrying it back to his cruiser. The gator tried to snap, despite its mouth being taped shut, at the deputy, but he once again said, “I know you’re mad,” before loading it in the back seat of the car and strapping it in with the seat belt.

The deputy relocated the gator to a nearby pond, officials said.