Florida – An alligator hanging out on a home’s front porch might have been too much to handle for some people, but not for Boynton Beach Police Officer Alfredo Vargas.
Vargas, it turns out, had taken an alligator handling course at the Native Village in Hollywood about 13 years ago, before becoming a police officer.
“I thought it was pretty cool, it looked exciting,” Vargas told reporters Wednesday, the same day police released body camera footage showing what happened on July 10.
That’s when Vargas answered a call about an alligator near the front door of a home in the Hunter’s Run community.
According to police, Vargas first contacted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and was told it would take some 30 minutes for a trapper to arrive. Wildlife officials told him the gator would likely be euthanized after being caught.
Not wanting that to happen, Vargas decided to put his earlier training to work.
The gator, estimated to be about 6 feet long, was ornery and Vargas had to use a couple of methods before finally being able to grab it.
“I just tried to cover its eyes. I tried to calm the alligator down, “ Vargas said.
After taping the gator’s snout, Vargas, with another officer assisting, put it in his patrol car and drove to a canal near Congress Avenue and Miner Road.
The tape was removed and the alligator was released.
The gator wasn’t hurt and Vargas says he wasn’t scared during the incident — but his adrenaline was pumping.