Deputies Reprimanded After Officer Bitten By Alligator
Witness: 'Alligator Was Laughing At Him'
POSTED: Thursday, June 19, 2008
UPDATED: 10:39 am EDT June 19,
2008
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. -- Three Central Florida deputies are being reprimanded after an officer was bitten and hospitalized by an 8-foot alligator.
RELATED IMAGES: Giant 1,000-Pound Alligator Found
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."
RELATED IMAGES: One-Handed Man vs. Gator
The alligator was hit but did not die and continued to roam the apartment complex.A trapper eventually came out and killed the animal with a bang stick.Officials said Baughman and the other officers received the reprimand for not following policy.Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
RELATED IMAGES: Giant 1,000-Pound Alligator Found 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."
RELATED IMAGES: One-Handed Man vs. Gator The alligator was hit but did not die and continued to roam the apartment complex.A trapper eventually came out and killed the animal with a bang stick.Officials said Baughman and the other officers received the reprimand for not following policy.Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
Previous Stories:
- May 16, 2008: 8-Foot Alligator Bites, Seriously Injures Sheriff's Deputy
- May 1, 2008: Alligators Lurking At Elem. School Force Police Escorts For Students
- April 28, 2008: Alligator Attacks Man At Fla. Country Club
- April 22, 2008: Woman Finds 8-Foot Alligator In Home's Kitchen
- April 17, 2008: Police: Students Used Palm Frond, Duct Tape In Attempt To Capture Gator
- April 10, 2008: Alligator Flips Seaplane On Takeoff, Pilot Says
- April 9, 2008: Alligator Blood Could Fight 'Superbugs'
- April 1, 2008: One-Handed Man Wrestles Alligator
- March 7, 2008: Naked Man Found Stalking Alligator
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