A group of Louisiana officers got more than they bargained for when they responded to a “suspicious subject” wandering through a neighborhood.
Deputies in St. John the Baptist Parish SWAT team responded to the call on July 1, a Facebook post said.
“Upon arrival, officers attempted to make contact with the suspect who resisted arrest,” deputies said.
But this wasn’t their normal, run-of-the-mill criminal. This suspect had big teeth.
In a video taken by a neighbor and shared on Facebook, deputies can be seen in a slow-speed chase of a 5-foot-long alligator.
Residents looked on as the team tried to grab the alligator’s tail, missing again and again as the reptile made it clear that it would not surrender peacefully.
When the alligator was surrounded, it whipped around and opened its mouth, hissing at the deputies.
One deputy took the alligator head on and clamped its mouth shut before another jumped on top of the alligator and taped its mouth shut.
The alligator didn’t go willingly, wrapping around and twisting its way out of the deputies’ arms before they could get a good enough hold on the animal.
“Officers took the suspect into custody then released it back into the swamp where it belongs,” the post said.
St. John the Baptist Parish is about 30 miles northwest of New Orleans.
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