Florida Deputy Shocks Woman by Yanking Gator Trespasser Out of Pool with His Bare Hands

A Florida deputy found himself going toe-to-toe with a surprise swimmer—an alligator cooling off in a backyard pool.

Homeowners in St. Augustine contacted the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office (SJSO) after spotting the small gator taking an unauthorized dip. Fortunately, Deputy Richardson was ready for the task.

Body cam footage, posted on Facebook by SJSO, captures the moment Richardson fearlessly reaches into the water with his bare hands and grabs the reptile by the neck. With calm precision, he lifts it from the pool and guides it away from the area.

“I got you, you’re fine,” Richardson reassures the gator. “I know, you’re super mad.”

The onlookers seemed suitably impressed. One woman off-camera can be heard telling the deputy, “Obviously you grew up here!”

“Florida grown at its finest,” she adds with a laugh.

In the video, Richardson explains that he plans to relocate the gator to a pond far from any residential area.

The alligator is later seen being gently placed in the backseat of a patrol car. Before driving off, Richardson quips, “You know what, let me buckle you in,” and secures the gator with a seatbelt for safety.

“The alligator wasn’t happy its pool time was over or about the ride in the patrol car, but it was buckled in and safely relocated to a nearby pond by Deputy Richardson,” SJSO wrote in the caption accompanying the video.

Alligator sightings are nothing new in Florida. According to The Palm Beach Post, the state is home to approximately 1.3 million alligators. The St. Johns River alone hosts around 5,100 of them.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reports that alligators live in all 67 counties of the state. People living near water or engaging in water-based activities are naturally at a higher risk of encountering one.

“Although many Floridians have learned to coexist with alligators, the potential for conflict always exists,” the FWC notes on its website. Still, it adds that “serious injuries caused by alligators are rare” in Florida.

The FWC advises residents to maintain a safe distance from alligators, never feed them, and keep pets leashed and away from water to avoid dangerous interactions.