A vehicle search Sunday uncovered more than suspected drug paraphernalia when a Colorado police officer found a rattlesnake inside the car.
A Wheat Ridge police officer was checking trailheads at Prospect Park when he spotted drug paraphernalia sitting out in the open in an occupied car, according to a social media post by the department. That's when an Uber dropped off the vehicle's owner at the location.
According to the owner, a friend had borrowed the car and had left the vehicle at that location to be picked up. The owner told the officer he could go through the car, and the officer's body camera recorded the search.
The officer's search uncovered a gun, drugs and a large plastic bin. As he opened the bin, the officer was surprised to discover a rattlesnake inside.
"You can imagine our officer’s shock," the department stated.
And the officer wasn't shy about expressing that shock.
"You got a rattlesnake in here?" the officer is heard asking in the body camera footage. "What the (expletive), dude. Are you kidding me? There’s a (expletive) live rattlesnake in this bin!"
The car's owner was just as surprised by the unusual living cargo inside the vehicle.
“Does he have any other things that might bite me?” the officer is heard asking in the footage.
Police seized the drugs and gun, and investigators still had another person they wanted to talk to.
"We are still trying to get in touch with their friend, and like you, have a lot of questions," the department stated.
No charges were filed against the car's owner. According to KDVR-TV, the snake was left in the bin in the vehicle, and police suggested that the car's owner contact a 24-hour veterinarian for the animal.
"It’s a good example of how you need to be prepared for anything in this job, including snake charming," the department stated about the incident.
