BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – A Boynton Beach resident recently found an alligator hanging out on his front porch, authorities said.
The incident was reported a couple of weeks ago, but Boynton Beach police released body cam footage on Wednesday from an officer who responded to the scene.
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Police said Officer Alfredo Vargas, who learned how to handle and wrestle gators at the Native Village in Hollywood, responded July 10 to the home in the Hunter's Run neighborhood and found the gator by the front door.
Police said Vargas called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and was told that it would take about 30 minutes before a trapper could arrive.
FWC officials told Vargas that the gator would likely be killed by the trapper.
Police said Vargas didn't want to the gator to be killed given his background with dealing with nuisance gators and returning them to their natural habitat.
FWC officers told Vargas that he could release the reptile elsewhere, so the officer captured the gator, put it in the back seat of his patrol car and took the gator to a canal near Congress Avenue and Miner Road.
Police said Vargas removed the tape from around the gator's mouth before placing it in the water.
The gator was not injured during the incident.