Unregistered

Would it be wrong to drag the alligator away on foot? 2-3 mph is a brisk walk and I'm sure his vehicle could go no slower.

"...a creature that is beautiful and amazing in its proper habitat." Agreed, but in that location it was a dangerous preditor.

There is no procedure in place to handle this type of situation. This means that the lone officer/warden on site has to "fly by seat of his pants" and come up with the best solution he can find. His number one concern must be the safety of the people. Think what we'd be saying now if that officer had not acted and one of those kiddos had been injured/killed.

We're talking here about a lone officer facing a very dangerous animal. It appears that the alligator as already injured making the situation worse. To top it off, you had kiddos in the area waiting for a school bus. Sure, you might re-route the bus. How do you re-route the kiddos? Trust me. It can be very difficult to get people (kids AND adults) to follow instruction, even when it's for their own good. I know. It's my job to get people to follow insructions.

Not having been there I can not say if the officer did or did not take the best route. I can say that, having had to make decisions under very difficult situations, you don't always get it right. From my point of view, no humans were hurt and the officer went home that night. That given, this may have not been a "great" day but it was a "good" day.

Just a thought from the Un-named Texan