Deputy wrangles gator spotted near Florida school
By Michelle Meredith
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OSCEOLA COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — Nowhere in the job description for law enforcement does it say you have to wrangle an alligator. But then again, this is Florida, and that’s where Sgt. Jack Drew of the Osceola County Sheriff’s office comes into the picture.
On Wednesday, the call came in: there was an alligator in front of a ditch near BridgePrep Academy in Poinciana.
That was problem number one. Problem number two: school was about to let out.
By the time Drew got there, the gator, about two feet long, was hiding in a drainage pipe.
Drew and some parents hatched a plan. The parents threw Teddy Grahams, a kid’s snack, at the gator and enticed it to crawl out of the pipe just far enough for Drew to snag it.
“I used the catch pole, I put the loop over the hole, and they were throwing Teddy Grahams in the water,” Drew said. “He would come out a little bit, and at the time when his head came completely out, I was able to snatch it up.”
Reflecting on his side job, Drew added, “Some days I’d rather deal with the animals than some of the people we deal with… at least you know what end is dangerous there.”
With his education complete, the gator was relocated to a more suitable location. In his 19-year career, Sgt. Drew says he has snagged 12 alligators.
The most recent was an alligator hanging out at a nail salon.
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