Watch as newly hired cop from New York encounters his first Florida alligator

A New York transplant recently hired to be a cop in Florida is getting laughs on social media for his uncomfortable reaction to being handed a writhing alligator.

The nuisance gator call was a first for Officer Christopher Martinez, who joined the Largo Police Department in November, department officials told McClatchy News on June 12.

Video shows the predator was a juvenile and its jaws were taped shut, but that didn’t seem to matter to Martinez.

“Officers recently responded to a home for a very Florida situation — an alligator wandered onto the property,” Largo police reported in a June 11 social media post.

“While most of our team handled it like seasoned pros, one of our newer officers from New York experienced his very first run-in with a gator and it showed! Let’s just say there was some jumping and maybe some squealing.”

Martinez was clearly being a good sport when he volunteered to hold the hissing alligator.

However, he did so only after donning gloves, asking for step-by-step instructions, taking deep breaths, and making sure another officer would “take him back” if things went badly.

“You have big teeth. I have tiny fingers,” Martinez said to “Mr. Gator.”

The handoff lasted about 30 seconds and concluded with Martinez screaming as the alligator whipped around in his hands.

His reaction has been viewed over 1.2 million times on social media, and had amassed more than 30,000 comments and reactions on Facebook as of June 12. This includes a few women who asked Martinez out on a date.

“Wait til we have a cold snap and one of the iguanas fall out the tree and land on him,” Glenn Pennell wrote on the department’s Facebook page.

“Wait until he finds out they climb fences too,” Melissa Blount said.

“New Yorkers all hard core until a baby dinosaur arrives,” Jennifer Alexander posted.

The alligator was released in a wilderness area, police officials said.

“No officers were harmed and Officer Martinez, our N.Y. transplant, received his official welcome to Florida!” the department wrote.

Largo is about a 20-mile drive west from downtown Tampa.

This story was originally published June 12, 2025 at 12:29 PM with the headline "Watch as newly hired cop from New York encounters his first Florida alligator."