Georgia alligator takes ride in police cruiser after driveway 'arrest': video
Recently released bodycam footage shows officers wrangling and transporting a wayward alligator. (Chatham County Police Department)
CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. - A Georgia alligator was "arrested" and loaded into a police cruiser after making an unwelcome appearance in a resident's driveway, video shows.
The Chatham County Police Department released footage of the gator's "arrest" in a Facebook post on May 25. The incident took place near Savannah on Friday.
"When an unwelcome visitor showed up in this neighborhood Thursday evening, our Cpl. Blackledge and Cpl. Stapleton took action," the police said in the Facebook post.
"Watch how they captured the gator, wrangled him into the back of a patrol car, and released it back into the wild."
Bodycam footage shows officers tapping the gator's mouth and restraining the reptile before loading him into the back of a police car. The reptile was later shown being released into the wild.
Residents got a kick out of the video, with many residents writing amused comments.
"Did you read him his rights?" one person joked.
"Poor gator. I too have also been in the back of one of those Explorers," another quipped.
Other locals commended the officers for showing bravery in wrangling the gator.
"Thank you once again. You folks wear many hats and you wear them well," one Facebook user wrote.
"Country boys gettin it done," another comment read.
The Chatham County Police Department told Fox News Digital that such alligator sightings are not uncommon in the area.
"There have been several instances in the last few years where our officers have encountered an alligator, and returned it to the wild," the department said. "We’re proud of Corpoals Blackledge and Stapleton for working quickly and calmly to move this gator from a neighborhood and to the Ogeechee River where it belongs."
"It takes a lot of bravery to hold a gator and tape its mouth closed so it can be transported. But, the adrenaline really gets flowing when you untape a gator’s mouth and set it free," the statement added.
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