Florida Man Fatally Shot by Deputies After Surviving Alligator Attack: Police Report

Florida deputies fatally shot a man who reportedly assaulted them with garden shears and attempted to seize a shotgun from their patrol vehicle after being bitten by an alligator during a swim in a lake.

The series of events began around 6 a.m. at a RaceTrac gas station on State Road 37 in Polk County, as detailed by Sheriff Grady Judd during a press conference. The gas station clerk informed deputies about a “strange” individual trying to contact his son. Although deputies initially didn’t locate the individual, they were later alerted about someone swimming in a lake known for alligators.

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One person tried to throw the man a life preserver but he refused to take it.

“Another witness tried to talk to him and he said ‘he growled at me so I ran in the house and locked the door,”” Judd said.

Upon reaching the scene, deputies saw the man emerging from the lake, visibly injured with an alligator bite on his arm. He then used a brick in an attempt to break into a vehicle before allegedly attacking deputies with garden shears, according to Sheriff Judd.

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The sheriff said his deputies tried to de-escalate the situation and used their Tasers. But that didn’t work. He then allegedly tried entering the passenger door of the deputy patrol vehicle and steal a shotgun.

“At that moment in time all the warnings had to stop and the action had to begin,” Judd. “That’s when they shot him enough to stop the threat.”