Gator Attacks Naked Man On Crack

12-Foot Alligator Nearly Rips Man's Arm Off Before Heroic Rescue In Florida

(CBS/AP)  A 45-year-old man was hospitalized after four sheriff's deputies rescued him from the jaws of a nearly 12-foot alligator Wednesday, while he was naked and high on crack cocaine.

The Polk County deputies were responding to multiple calls about a man yelling for help at about 4 a.m. They could not shoot the animal because it was too dark and they might have hit the victim or one another, the sheriff's office said.

Adrian J. Apgar was taken to the hospital in critical condition with an apparent broken right arm, leg injuries and his left arm hanging by a tendon. Hospital officials did not immediately release information about his condition.

"It is an incredibly bacteria-filled environment that he was exposed to," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.

It was not clear why Apgar was in the lake. Judd said Apgar was naked and told deputies he had been smoking crack.

The deputies — Michael Parker, Billy Osborne, David Clements and Sgt. Andrew Williams — carried Apgar about 40 feet, up a steep incline and to an ambulance ashore. None of the four was injured in the gator-infested waters.

"I remember him saying, 'I'm over here, get here quick, he's still got me, he's going to kill me, my arms are broken,"' Parker said.

The deputies' boots sunk in mud with each step they took, and the water lapped chest-high on some. It took several efforts to get the 6-foot-1, 250-pound man out of the water even after the gator let loose because they were exhausted. They had to find the man by sound, through thick brush and cattails in the middle of the night.

A state wildlife official said investigators are unsure whether Apgar was on land or in the water when he was attacked. Apgar told officials he fell asleep on the beach before the alligator dragged him into the water. However, Judd said deputies aren't sure the man's account is accurate because of his drugged condition, reports the Orlando Sentinel.

At various points, one or two of the deputies were standing by, weapons pulled, on the lookout for other gators. Apgar told them he felt at least one more in the water.

"I was holding my shotgun. It's kind of hard to walk through that with a flashlight and a shotgun," Parker said.

Osborne said he pulled Apgar's arms while the gator gripped his lower half. The reptile loosened his jaws and Osborne thought he was free, but the animal lunged again.

The deputies said they were scared, but didn't have time to think.

"It was a human being, he was dying. He needed help," Osborne said. "I knew my partners were behind me. They were watching; I wasn't too afraid another gator was going to get me."

The alligator believed to have bitten the man was caught at about 1 p.m., roughly seven hours after Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission trappers set out bait. Though there's no way to be certain it's the right one, the animal caught was aggressive and found near the attack site.

"I said, 'Well how big did you think the alligator was?' (The deputies) said 'about the size of a school bus,"' Judd said.

It took 15-20 minutes to pull Apgar to shore from the moment they arrived on scene, the deputies estimated.

[sjrodrig]

Well, the gator was destroyed. Very rare for alligators to be so agressive, mostly it is the crocs that attack people.

Guess drug users should consider where they lay down to nap next time. Maybe the shore of gator infested waters is not a good choice.

Shame the gator paid for some drug user's lack of judgement.

[gramto7]

netram77 wrote:
When I was a boy gators were not allowed to get this large and live near people. Of course this gator is doing what comes natural to him. Do you think that a 12 foot 500 lb gator is scared of a full grown man?

I don't know what part of FL you grew up in, but I was born and raised in FL also. Gators that big and bigger were in lakes around everywhere. They were not plentiful until they were put on the endangered list and had a chance to rebound, but they were there. Now there needs to be, if there isn't already, a hunting season for gators to thin them to a manageable level. However, the explosive growth of housing and business building going on in that state is the primary cause of human/gator conflict. That is what really needs to be controlled. You can hardly find unpaved land from Gainesville to below Haines City going down US27 or clear to below Sarasota down the west coast. The East coast is totally covered. Little that was beautiful about FL is still there.

[ecuadoriana]

wendyhoo-
Contradictions!!!! People can't have it both ways! That is why we have been systematically destroying the planet since we first arrived- we want it all without thought of the impact of our greed.

You say that your "in-laws live in Port St. Lucie & there is a ton of new development going on there which is disturbing the natural habitat of this [sic] creatures". You then go on to say "However there is an overwhelming amount of gators.." You missed it! There is an overwhelming amount of PEOPLE with their "new development" which is "disturbing the natural habitat" of the animals who WERE THERE FIRST!!! Why do the animals need to be hunted so that people can speed down the highway without the inconvenience of hitting a deer, racoon, or squirrel??? What about the inconvenience to the lives of the animals? If anyone paid an ounce of attention in middle school science class, or sunday school bible class, they'd remember that animals came first. We are the invaders & need to respect the fact that WE ARE IN THEIR HOMES! You'd expect your guests to respect your home- show the same courteousy to the animals.

We are of the earth, but the garbage pit we have turned it into will be to where we return. "Ashes to garbage, dust to toxic waste" should be the new saying.

[wendyhoo-2009]

NETRAM77..... her statement is exactly why I feel the gator should be destroyed. My in-laws live in Port St. Lucie and granted there is a ton of new development going on there which is disturbing the natural habitat of this creatures which like I said earlier if someone intruded my home I would attack so I understand the gator. However there is an overwhelming amount of gators and just like the deer on the east coast they have a way of controlling so we are not hitting one every second on our highways it is called HUNTING... there should be a way of controlling the gators. I will never leave my child in yeard of my in-laws alone or close my eyes to bath in the sun due to seeing way to many gators while just visiting.

[ubhappy2day]

As much as I am tempted to think, "he got what he deserved, mucking around in the gators turf, he ought to have known better". The truth is that his judgment was impaired. I have read so many comments that are so vicious and filled with anger toward this poor man, and also toward the gator. We must realize that this man is a victim. However, it shouldn't justify the euthanizing of a reptile behaving as his species normally does. How anthropocentric of people to suggest that we kill the poor animal. Humans have encroached on their environment so much over the last few decades. The slaughter of a rogue gator or other wild animals protecting what little territory they have left isn't the solution. There is a way to live in balance with nature, otherwise we will destroy the habitat for ourselves as well. I think we ought to look at the cruel comments made about this guy though. It is a weird story and easy to make fun of this man who exercised extremely poor judgment, but he obviously has some issues. We should be more empathetic towards drug addicts, not hostile towards them. It is a disease. He probably does the crack in order to self medicate for his mental problems. I only hope that he will now finally get the appropriate help he needs, as there is very little in the way of effective treatment out there to help people without insurance. I am praying for both the gator and this man, that they may both survive and be well.

[trueprogress]

I would never visit Florida, much less live there. I would kill all the gators, and put a few in museums, stuffed. The end. One human life is worth more than all these mindless monsters.

[ganjaman22]

mmmmmmmm...crack cocaine.

Gotta get me some o' dat, go swimmin' with dem gators now.

[netram77]

Don't believe what the wackos tell you. Small gators might be scared of people but this year in a public park a 4 foot gator bit down on young man's head in a public lake that had a public swimming area. If this had been a larger gator this guy would have been a gonner. He just could not get his jaws all the way around his head. Do you think that a 10 foot gator can find enough food to sustain himself in a retention pond? What do you think they eat? Ask the folks that have lost their pets. Since gators have been protected they have been multiplying in incredible numbers. We are the natural predator for the gator and we should be doing what should comes natural to us. ie Thinning their herd and protecting our own! Gators are getting to be a real problem down here. I don't think you would be acting so snide if it were your child that was ambushed by an alligator while feeding bread crumbs to the ducks at the edge of a public lake.

[netram77]

What is wrong with you people? Where are you from? I imagine most of you are not from Florida. 4 adults not crackheads or drunks have been killed here in Florida in the last 6 months by alligators. That's not how many people have been attacked, that's how many people have been killed! There are gators in just about every pond, drainage ditch, retention pond, canal, stream, river, golf course and lake in Florida. We have seen alligators crossing streets in broad daylight. When I was a boy gators were not allowed to get this large and live near people. Of course this gator is doing what comes natural to him. Do you think that a 12 foot 500 lb gator is scared of a full grown man?

[kailumego1]

They were just fine[alligators] before man came on the scene. This man is obvious a misfit and moron, so why kill an animal that was doing what's natural.

That's the problem, find excuses for some idiot's demented behavior, justifies killing an innocent predatory animal.

Well, gee, he shouldn't have gone in the lake, and made himself a target for a meal, which I'm quite sure that "poor" alligator would have regurgitated anyway.

moms sure are great aren't tibu987, LOL

[tibu987]

I'm lucky because when I was a young guy my mom warned me never to swim with with alligators when I was naked and doing drugs.
That advice stayed with me and to this day I have never had an alligator bite my *** off.
Whew!
Thanks Mom.

I just had a crackhead come to my door and tell me his little girl was sick and he needed money for medicine, if only I had a gator instead of a dog..........

[tarotsfool]

What is a shame is how accepted drugs are in some parts of our society. So much of popular entertainment, especially music, glamorizes drug use and criminal activity. This is what we are raising our children on. Why can we not support positive role models? Maybe then we would see all the changes we so long for in our world.

[ecuadoriana]

BTW, aa36042-

what's so bad about being a "liberal"? If everyone was conservative (& I suppose, by your attempt at an insult, you are conservative) do you honestly think we'd all "just get along" then? And how boring would that be if everyone thought the same, with no individualistic thought or feeling, if no one thought "outside the box"? So *** boring that it borders on scary! (Smells a bit Hilter-ish.)

I personally don't go for labels, but if I am, as you say, a "liberal" then I suppose my purpose would be to present alternative angles, different viewpoints, fresh ideals...exactly what the definition of liberal is: favourable to progress or reform, derived from Latin- liberaliis: pertaining to a free man

Which boils down to: I am free to state my opinion, even if it is ridiculed, scorned, & feared.

That's cool. Peace, bro.

Pensacola8, I've heard that before, I think it went something like, "Once you've had black, you never go back"

[jasperlily]

Well said, aa36042 - "So maybe we should make genocide legal and thin the human heard?", given that we hear today that 1 in 32 people are either criminals in jail or on parole :) (Oh, and it's "herd" - and you call others dumb-dumb :)

[ecuadoriana]

Why should an animal be "destroyed" for following it's nature? Alligators are carnivores, a hunk a dead beat crackaddict wanders into it's buffet table & the alligator eats it. Simple. But what about all those murderers sitting in prisons who get to live, coutesy of tax payers (including the families of the victims- Now,as Chris Rock would say "THAT ain't right!), they aren't "destroyed". They had no qualms about raping & murdering people, not for food, but for pleasure, greed, jealousy, hate. All human sins that we seem to forgive in humans, but an animal feeds itself & suddenly that animal is some blood thirsty monster that needs to be destroyed? That is insanity. How does an alligator's life, or any other animal, become less worthy than a man in prison for raping & killing a child for a snuff porn film?

[wendyhoo-2009]

i am twisted on this one. I agree leave the territory to the gators and stay the hell out of thier place... geez I know if someone intruded my home I would try to attack. I believe the officers went above and beyond but you know what thier job no matter what is to protect and to serve so technically all they did was thier job. This dumb *** shouldn't have been thier in the first place but I do not agree with leave that one animal alone if they did capture the right one then it needs to be destroyed. History of this animal and attcks on small animals and humans are true once they get that taste they only look for that. Unfortunate for an animal minding it own business in it own house (territory) but it will save someone else poodle or child one day if destroyed.

[aa36042]

ecuadoriana

your fuzzy romanticism sounds ridicoulous..this must be the concise and elegant suggestions of a liberal right? how did i guess? So maybe we should make genocide legal and thin the human heard? Or maybe we should live in little pods like Japanese business travelers do. And yes, lets let the government dictate the appropriate "levels" for humans? Dumb-dumb.
Screw an alligator%u2026hows that?