Florida Cop Corrals Alligator Found By Front Door
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Boynton Beach Police have released video of the moments when an officer tried to secure an alligator outside a Florida resident's home.
A few weeks ago, Officer Alfredo Vargas responded to a call from a resident of Hunter's Run who found an alligator laying by his front door.
Officer Vargas' body camera video shows how he was able to safely secure the alligator.
When Vargas firs arrived at the home, he called FWC and learned that it would be about 30 minutes before a trapper could arrive, and it was likely that the trapper would kill the alligator. Officer Vargas said he didn't want that to happen. That's when his expertise on the matter came in.
It just so happened that Vargas learned how to handle and wrestle alligators at the Native Village in Hollywood. While there, he was mentored by Mike "Skeet" Johns and Jimmy Riffle, who remain one of his best friends.
Given his background and learning how to capture alligators and return them to their natural habit, Vargas opted to do just that.
FWC advised that he could release the reptile elsewhere, so he put the alligator in the back seat of his patrol car and took him out to a canal by Congress Avenue and Miner Road.
Officer Vargas removed the tape from around the gators mouth and put him back in the water.
Boynton Beach Police Department joked after the incident that they made Vargas their official alligator wrestler
