Video: Largo officer jumps, squeals during first gator encounter
Alligator has Florida officer squealing
A Largo police officer, who is a New York transplant, squealed with fear during his first alligator encounter.
LARGO, Fla. - A newer officer with the Largo Police Department is a New York transplant and had a very jumpy reaction to his first gator encounter.
The backstory:
Largo police officers were called to a home recently because an alligator wandered onto the property.
In video shared by LPD, Officer Martinez can be heard saying he wanted to come up with a game plan for how he was going to take the gator from another officer holding it.
He even tells the gator, "You have big teeth, and I have tiny fingers."
READ: Florida man accused of dealing drugs, promoting dogfighting kept 9-foot alligator on property: JSO
The officer holding the alligator tells him she will drop him if he drops the gator and promises to take the reptile back if anything goes awry.
She adds that it is only hissing a little bit.
When the officer hands over the gator, it thrashes and Officer Martinez screams.
Video: Florida trapper wrangles alligator found in pool
When he finally gets the gator in his hands, he asks the other officer to take a picture.
After asking if he posed well for the camera, Officer Martinez tries to hand the reptile back to the other officer but it thrashes again and he screams and runs away.
What they're saying:
In a social media post, LPD wrote, "No officers were harmed and Officer Martinez, our NY transplant, received his official welcome to Florida!"
The Source: This story was written with information posted by the Largo Police Department.
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