Volusia County deputy violated policy when he tried to wrestle 8-foot alligator
A Volusia County deputy sheriff violated department policy when he tried to wrestle an alligator late Thursday in a Deltona apartment complex parking lot.
Volusia County Deputy Sheriff Keith Baughman, 39, was bitten on the left leg, near knee, in the parking lot of Brightside Apartments on Caribbean Street in Deltona. He is in stable condition today at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach where he was airlifted after the attack.
The first deputy on the scene followed procedure and called for a licensed trapper, said Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught. When Baughman arrived, "he decided to try to handle the alligator," Haught said.After placing a towel over the 8-foot gator's head, Baughman got the on animal's back, Haught said.
The alligator was able to throw him off and bit him.
At that point, Deputy Jason Stickels fired several shots at the gator, although he did not kill the animal, Haught said. A trapper removed the alligator.
Baughman does not face any serious discipline because of his actions, but there likely will be a supervisor's review, Haught said. "It was just a bad decision, that's all.
Law enforcement officers who encounter a problem alligator should not hesitate to use their guns to kill it, state wildlife officials said today.
"The best thing to do is to leave them alone," said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Joy Hill. In some cases, officers can lasso a gator and tie it to a tree until wildlife officers or trappers can arrive to deal with it, she said. But law enforcement officers are there to protect the public and shouldn't hesitate to shoot an alligator, Hill said.
There go the humans again, trying to be something they are not. Yo, deputy, "YOU are not Steve Irwin". You're lucky that gator only got YOU on the leg. As the animal lover that I am, "people get NO SYMPATHY from me when they cause an animal to be put down". "Whip those guns out and fire away. That is mankinds answer to just about everything isn't it?"
Animalz Rule, Humans Are Losers,
No comments:
Post a Comment