Desertdog
Member
I wonder; if this had been Joe Citizen, instead of a LEO, would they have dismissed it so quickly? I think they need to make it open season on any gator that is in somebody's backyard.
Off-duty officer shoots, kills gator in his backyard
Deputy says he acted in self-defense after gator charged him and a friend.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060610/NEWS/606100384/1006/SPORTS
By ANNA SCOTT
[email protected]
PORT CHARLOTTE -- An off-duty sheriff's deputy shot and killed an 11-foot alligator that charged him twice in his backyard Thursday night.
This latest incident of alligator aggression comes at a time when residents are on edge after an increase in deadly alligator attacks in the past few weeks in Florida.
Alligators are a protected species, and hunting or shooting them is illegal.
But the rising number of alligator encounters with humans has prompted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to look at alligator deaths on a case-by-case basis before deciding whether to press charges. Even the legal alligator hunting season was expanded this year from one month to more than two. It will run from Aug. 15 to Oct. 31.
"With the increase in alligator attacks and deaths in the state of Florida, we take each one right now and look at it really closely before deciding whether to press charges," said FWC Lt. Jeffrey Rebon.
In this case, no charges will be filed against Sarasota County Sheriff's Sgt. Clint Knowles of Port Charlotte.
Rebon said that Knowles acted in self-defense and used the gun without endangering anyone.
"He did everything correctly," Rebon said.
Knowles told authorities that the alligator climbed out of a canal into his backyard at about 7:20 p.m. and charged a family friend.
Knowles chased the reptile back into the canal, but the gator crawled out again just minutes later, according to a Charlotte County Sheriff's Office report.
He started to chase the animal a second time, but the alligator charged back at him.
Knowles fired at the alligator twice. The last shot, at the alligator's head, was fatal.
Knowles could not be reached Friday, but he told officers that he had the gun for protection and did not intend to shoot the animal.
He said he was afraid the alligator would harm his children.
Rebon cautioned that people should not shoot at alligators without a direct threat but should call the state hot line at (866) FWC-GATOR for help with a nuisance gator.
Outside of hunting season, only state-licensed nuisance alligator trappers are allowed to capture and kill alligators.
There are several theories to explain the rise in attacks:
May and June are mating months for alligators.
The lack of rainfall and higher temperatures have dried up some of the wetlands and forced alligators to go looking for new homes.
New developments have encroached on their natural habitat.
There are an estimated 1 million to 2 million alligators in Florida, but there have only been 351 recorded attacks on humans in the past 58 years.
Before the most recent fatal alligator attacks, only 17 deaths had been recorded since 1948, according to the wildlife commission.
In May, three women were killed by alligators in a week. One victim was a jogger whose body was found in a Broward County canal; one was snorkeling in a recreation area near Lake George in the central part of the state; and the other woman was found in a canal north of St. Petersburg.
In a May incident, an East Manatee woman used a pistol to shoot a three-foot gator four times after it entered her house's lanai. She was given a warning for hunting without a license. The alligator survived.
And a 74-year-old woman in Punta Gorda fought off an alligator with a garden hose after it bit her ankle.
Off-duty officer shoots, kills gator in his backyard
Deputy says he acted in self-defense after gator charged him and a friend.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060610/NEWS/606100384/1006/SPORTS
By ANNA SCOTT
[email protected]
PORT CHARLOTTE -- An off-duty sheriff's deputy shot and killed an 11-foot alligator that charged him twice in his backyard Thursday night.
This latest incident of alligator aggression comes at a time when residents are on edge after an increase in deadly alligator attacks in the past few weeks in Florida.
Alligators are a protected species, and hunting or shooting them is illegal.
But the rising number of alligator encounters with humans has prompted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to look at alligator deaths on a case-by-case basis before deciding whether to press charges. Even the legal alligator hunting season was expanded this year from one month to more than two. It will run from Aug. 15 to Oct. 31.
"With the increase in alligator attacks and deaths in the state of Florida, we take each one right now and look at it really closely before deciding whether to press charges," said FWC Lt. Jeffrey Rebon.
In this case, no charges will be filed against Sarasota County Sheriff's Sgt. Clint Knowles of Port Charlotte.
Rebon said that Knowles acted in self-defense and used the gun without endangering anyone.
"He did everything correctly," Rebon said.
Knowles told authorities that the alligator climbed out of a canal into his backyard at about 7:20 p.m. and charged a family friend.
Knowles chased the reptile back into the canal, but the gator crawled out again just minutes later, according to a Charlotte County Sheriff's Office report.
He started to chase the animal a second time, but the alligator charged back at him.
Knowles fired at the alligator twice. The last shot, at the alligator's head, was fatal.
Knowles could not be reached Friday, but he told officers that he had the gun for protection and did not intend to shoot the animal.
He said he was afraid the alligator would harm his children.
Rebon cautioned that people should not shoot at alligators without a direct threat but should call the state hot line at (866) FWC-GATOR for help with a nuisance gator.
Outside of hunting season, only state-licensed nuisance alligator trappers are allowed to capture and kill alligators.
There are several theories to explain the rise in attacks:
May and June are mating months for alligators.
The lack of rainfall and higher temperatures have dried up some of the wetlands and forced alligators to go looking for new homes.
New developments have encroached on their natural habitat.
There are an estimated 1 million to 2 million alligators in Florida, but there have only been 351 recorded attacks on humans in the past 58 years.
Before the most recent fatal alligator attacks, only 17 deaths had been recorded since 1948, according to the wildlife commission.
In May, three women were killed by alligators in a week. One victim was a jogger whose body was found in a Broward County canal; one was snorkeling in a recreation area near Lake George in the central part of the state; and the other woman was found in a canal north of St. Petersburg.
In a May incident, an East Manatee woman used a pistol to shoot a three-foot gator four times after it entered her house's lanai. She was given a warning for hunting without a license. The alligator survived.
And a 74-year-old woman in Punta Gorda fought off an alligator with a garden hose after it bit her ankle.
.
