A Miami-Dade police practiced his cattle roping skills with a scaly customer, and his body camera captured the dramatic scene as he lassoed an alligator last month.
The incident happened Feb. 21 when police were called about an over 6-foot alligator that had crossed from a pond to a grassy field near a neighborhood, The Palm Beach Post reports. Cruisers were used to contain the gator, but Officer Manuel Orol took a hands-on approach to securing the animal.
Orol grabbed a yellow tow rope and began doing his impression of a rodeo cowboy. After a few unsuccessful attempts, he was able to land the rope around the alligator and secure the line to the front of a vehicle.
“I hope somebody got this on video,” Orol is heard saying in the bodycam video.
Eventually, members of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reached the scene and were able to take care of the alligator.
"It's a soft rope," Orol told WPLG-TV. "I was able to lasso it around it's, it's top leg and it was in the midsection where I was able to just hold it and secure it where it wouldn't go into the street."
