Big gator breaks out of handcuffs, captured by deputies

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

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Trapping gators is apparently part of a Pasco deputy's job. (slideshow)

PASCO COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- Trapping gators, as well as criminals, is apparently part of the job for three Pasco County deputies.

Instead of transporting a suspect Monday morning, deputies had a 7-foot-8-inch, 250 pound, alligator in the back of their patrol car.

Aaron Concepcion and his father, Joey, called 911 when they saw the gator near their house, located in the Regency Park subdivision of Port Richey at about 6:30 a.m.

They just moved to Florida.

"It was like 7 foot 8," Aaron said. "That's like bigger than my dad."

"It was right up against here and it was just banging its head right against here," Joey said. "Like it wanted to come in."

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Gator in patrol car (Video courtesy of the Pasco County Sheriff's Office- no audio)
Deputy traps gator

Deputy Frederic Vetter responded to the call.

The gator sighting was no big deal to him. He's the unofficial gator trapper for the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.

"I have a device which is a long pole with a cable attached to it," he said. "We used it to go around the gator's neck."

The gator snapped that pole in two.

"They even put the handcuffs on it," Joey said. "And it broke the handcuffs off."

Vetter said big gators tire out easily. Still it took three deputies, Vetter along with Deputies Matthew Kadel and Monte Schuler, to tape the alligator's mouth shut and wrap rope around his legs.

They got creative when it came to getting the gator in the car.

"What happened was we had to roll the window down. The actual tail came out this far through the window," Vetter said. "I've had a lot worse people in the back seat than my alligator."

The deputies tied the gator up and transported it in the back of the patrol car to a local gas station where they met a licensed trapper who took custody of the animal.

There had been no reports of attacks by the gator but because the gator is so long he's considered a nuisance and will have to be killed.

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