Watch S.C. Police Officers Dogpile on 9-Foot Gator in Parking Garage

May 24, 2022

Charleston police officers flashed pro wrestling moves to get control of an alligator inside an apartment parking structure, the second time officers had had to corral such a reptile this month.

By Mark Price

Source The Charlotte Observer

Charleston, SC, police officers jumped on top of a 9-foot alligator that was discovered in an apartment complex's parking garage Friday.

A 9-foot alligator sneaked into the parking garage of a South Carolina apartment complex Friday, May 20, but it’s what happened next that has people talking on social media.

Video shared May 23 by the Charleston Police Department shows Animal Control Supervisor Courtney Bayles brought the reptile under control by literally leaping on its back like a professional wrestler.

Two guys then jumped on top of Bayles, to keep the gator from throwing her off.

That’s when two other people grabbed the alligator by the snout and started wrapping its mouth shut with tape.

All this happens in just 30 seconds.

The video has gotten more than 20,000 views on Facebook in less than a day, and many among the commenters are lauding Bayles for allowing herself to be squashed in the name of animal control.

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“I feel like that woman in the front drew the short straw,” Matchew Allean wrote on Facebook.

“Kudos to the female officer on the bottom of the pile for sustaining the weight (400+ pds.) of male officers on top of her while trying to restrain the suspect!” Matt Dailey said.

“Charleston PD gator wrestling team, where I do sign up,” Joshua Perryman posted.

A resident of the apartment complex is credited with finding the alligator. The tenant was walking a dog around 3 p.m. Friday, stepped out of an elevator in the garage, and there it sat, police said. The resident alerted apartment staff, and they called police dispatchers.

After being captured, the gator was hauled “a short distance away” from the apartments and released unharmed into a pond, police officials said.

Spring is alligator mating season in the southeast, which means males wander from familiar turf in search of females. It’s the second time this month an alligator turned up in the wrong place on Daniel Island, including one cornered at Daniel Island School.

A 9-foot alligator counts as an adult, but they grow much bigger in the state, reaching as much as 13 feet, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

How the alligator got into a parking garage was not revealed, but some commenters admitted the possibilities are scary.

“Imagine parking your car next to this guy,” Ben Marks wrote on Facebook.

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