Sanibel police trained and certified to catch alligators by FWC

Pinning an apex predator down with little more than bare hands and tape. That’s what the Sanibel Police Department went through during alligator-catching certification training taught by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

“There are a lot of alligators. And on occasion, an alligator will wander into, say, someone’s garage, or into their pool deck,” said William Dalton, the Sanibel Police Chief.

It’s not uncommon for a gator to appear in someone’s yard on Sanibel. That’s why FWC has trained Sanibel PD to catch gators since the 1980s.

It didn’t take long for Officer Chris Chiappy to put his training to the test when he joined the Sanibel Police Department.

“Capturing my first alligator, I had other officers with me,” said Officer Chiappy. “We grab the alligator and we relocate it to another part of the island.”

Human-gator interactions can happen suddenly on Sanibel.

Back in 2023, two gators attacked a man on Sanibel. Trappers quickly snatched and removed both of the gators from the water. A perfect example of why this training is so important.

“FWC just simply might not be on the island,” said Chief Dalton. “They might be in Port Charlotte catching an alligator, and the situation might require a more timely resolution.”

Pouncing on an alligator’s back sounds crazy, but it’s crucial for the police department to learn. No average person should ever attempt it.

“Approaching the alligator from behind, it’s it can be dangerous,” said Officer Chiappy. “When we get on top of the alligator, that’s when we go ahead and maintain control of the head and we move on to closing the jaw, picking up the jaw while it’s closed, and taping its mouth.”

Training to pin down a gator is just another day at the office for the Sanibel Police Department.