Deputy Keith Baughman, 39, responded to calls of a large alligator loose in the parking lot of the Brightside Apartments located on Caribbean Street in May.

Baughman and other deputies found the alligator roaming the area.

Witnesses said the deputy threw a towel on the alligator, jumped on its back and tried to wrestle it. Baughman was thrown off the back and then bitten, witnesses said.

"His pants ripped up and blood was gushing out and everything," witness Carlos Martinez said. "He started limping away and the alligator was laughing at him. The dude then shot it twice in the head."

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office said a second officer, Deputy Jason Stickles, 27, shot the alligator repeatedly.

"I said, 'Don't shoot it,'" witness Jasmin Harris said. "Just wait until the animal people come out. I don't know why they shot it in the first place. They shouldn't have jumped on it. That wasn't their job."

Deputies Reprimanded After Officer Bitten By Alligator - Orlando News Story - WKMG Orlando

Somebody had seen one too many Steve Irwin shows!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Oh jeeze. I think the alligator was just trying to do the human race a favor by cleansing the gene pool.

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I second that.

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“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ (I found it!) but ‘That’s funny…'"
- Isaac Asimov



TKE:TT:118

Trained how to use a gun and shoot, they fired repeatedly with automatic weapons and only hit the 8 foot alligator twice, not killing it.

With training like that, they need to stay away from thinking they're experts in any field!

(Where's a barn when you need it?)

It's a shame that the gator had to pay for the cop's stupidity.

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What a macho idiot!
Poor gator.

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Andrea

Hmm, I am currently attending school to be a Law officer. You would not catch me jumping on my Gator. Or even thinking about shooting that poor big guy. And for the shooting thing, that funny. They must have been older officers, The older ones didn't have intense training like they do now. Back then you didn't even need to go to school for it. That was a stupid move on their part.

Training doesn't necessarily have anything to do with it. We just had a case around here where three cops responded to a call about a snake in a bird house. The officers included a training supervisor.
Their response was to start firing their weapons to shoot the snake, which was up in the air, with absolutely no regard for what might be on the other side.
What was on the other side was a father and his young son, 6 years old if I recall, who were fishing.
One of the shots hit the child in the head and killed him instantly.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

idiots.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.