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Deputies Under Investigation After Alligator Call Leads To Injury
POSTED: 6:40 am EDT May 16,
2008
UPDATED: 1:03 pm EDT May 16,
2008
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. -- Several Volusia County sheriff's deputies are under investigation, accused of mishandling a nuisance alligator call in Deltona overnight at the Brightside Apartments (see map). One deputy was bitten and now the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is also involved.
ARCHIVE: Read Recent ALLIGATOR-Related Reports
The sheriff's office admits it was a case of very bad judgment on the part of their deputy who jumped atop an alligator before a trapper even arrived. The woman who called deputies now says no one was in immediate danger when the deputies climbed atop the animal.Jaasmin Harris is the one who called 911 Thursday night after she got home from work and saw an 8-foot alligator sitting just steps from her car. But Harris is angry with what happened after deputies arrived. She said they attacked as the gator sat non-threateningly in the grass."It was just sitting there. And then they tried to put a towel over its face. And then they tried to jump on it," she said.The officer who jumped on the gator's back was bitten. As he limped away, one of the others fired two shots, all before a wildlife trapper even arrived."I don't think they should've jumped on it. I don't think they should've messed with it unless it was moving around, ready to go after somebody. But it was just sitting there," Harris said.The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission asks all agencies not to try to move wild animals until trappers arrive. Now, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office says the officers involved face an internal review and possible discipline, but a spokesman couldn't say why the officer jumped the gator."I have no answer as to why he would've done that. Yes, [it's against protocol]," said Brandon Haught, Volusia County Sheriff's Office."I felt bad. I felt bad that I called them. Wish I had called the right people to handle the situation. Now there's a cop that got bit because he was doing someone else's job," Harris said.The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the gator would have been killed either way, but the trapper would have been able to noose it and drag it out the street.The injured officer is expected to be fine.
ARCHIVE: Read Recent ALLIGATOR-Related ReportsThe sheriff's office admits it was a case of very bad judgment on the part of their deputy who jumped atop an alligator before a trapper even arrived. The woman who called deputies now says no one was in immediate danger when the deputies climbed atop the animal.Jaasmin Harris is the one who called 911 Thursday night after she got home from work and saw an 8-foot alligator sitting just steps from her car. But Harris is angry with what happened after deputies arrived. She said they attacked as the gator sat non-threateningly in the grass."It was just sitting there. And then they tried to put a towel over its face. And then they tried to jump on it," she said.The officer who jumped on the gator's back was bitten. As he limped away, one of the others fired two shots, all before a wildlife trapper even arrived."I don't think they should've jumped on it. I don't think they should've messed with it unless it was moving around, ready to go after somebody. But it was just sitting there," Harris said.The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission asks all agencies not to try to move wild animals until trappers arrive. Now, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office says the officers involved face an internal review and possible discipline, but a spokesman couldn't say why the officer jumped the gator."I have no answer as to why he would've done that. Yes, [it's against protocol]," said Brandon Haught, Volusia County Sheriff's Office."I felt bad. I felt bad that I called them. Wish I had called the right people to handle the situation. Now there's a cop that got bit because he was doing someone else's job," Harris said.The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the gator would have been killed either way, but the trapper would have been able to noose it and drag it out the street.The injured officer is expected to be fine.
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