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.

[olebd]

I wonder if the alligator will be sent to rehab now?

[nolalou]

Maybe that Gator was trained to go after crack heads, as part of Bush's war on drugs?

[elgraz]

Al the Alligator should have completed his meal. Imagine if this jerk was behind the wheel of a moving vehicle ?

[hspumanti]

Natural selection interruptus...

[ecuadoriana]

Alligator attacks naked crack addict in lake and the police wanted to shoot the alligator??? ***??? The alligator hadn't done anything wrong. He was doing exactly what intellegent creatures like him are supposed to do when dumb animals go wading into their soup bowl- THE ALLIGATOR WAS THINNING THE HERD! Natural selection! Nature against stupidity!

I say "Way to go alligators! Keep up the good work!"

And to those who respond: Well what if an alligator attacked you or your child? I say: Getting eaten by an alligator is a more dignified & respectable way to go than getting killed by a drunk driver, a moron high on crack, or an idiot with a gun looking to rob me for drug money. Getting eaten by an alligator or a shark, while painful, is a much more natural way to go & I wouldn't be dying by the hands of a criminal whose only intent is evil. Animals are not evil.

[mjv2944]

Surprised the gator didn't spit him out. If he would have finished his meal, it probably would have saved taxpayers a lot of money.

[jimbo505]

This is quite a crazy story!

[rharrin1]

Give that gator a badge, he was only making a arrest for indecent exposure.

[delta5243]

ahahahahhahahaha, good.

[sciselia]

i dont even know what to say to this.....WHAT IN THE HELL!! NAKED!! ON CRACK!! IN A LAKE!!
being eaten ^__^ hahah good luck on that

sci

[jasperlily]

Wonder how that idiot felt about cops before this incident !!! He volunteered himself as 'gator food in 'gator habitat. I have no problem with the result. But......how brave those officers are and how compassionate to save him in the dark at enormous risk to themselves. My hat's off to them.

The gator let go because he got high as well.....LOL

[stressfree3]

The poor gator had his meal distrubed.

[begob-2009]

He is as dumb as the woman that stopped to feed a gator. No the gator just did'nt jog on side of her.

[tinker3478]

No, no-I'm not going there. No tinker, no.

[alinok32]

That alligator is just doing what comes natural. Whoever says that "crack (or any drugs) is no big deal," or that "its just a little fun what's the harm" needs to read this and follow this man's rehab story--I'm sure it will be a long hard road for him. His left arm is toast for sure, and depending on how bad his rt arm and legs are infected more limbs may need to be amputated.

Also, I agree with many of you who said how brave of the officers!! They deserve a metal of bravery/honor or something--they really went above and beyond the call of duty. If it was up to me, I would have waited until there were a bunch of lights, Fish & Wildlife, etc. before I go into that environment in the dark! Sorry dude, but I can't be of help to you if I'm being chewed on by another gator or crock.
One quote:
"Natural selection interruptus... " Funny!!!! I like it!

[jasperlily]

Thank you, howzilla, for proving our point. There are many kinds of idiots - prior to many kinds of incidents...at which time they are overtaken with gratitude when help arrives. Yes, there are many cops who neither deserve nor get respect from their communities. Fortunately, there are many exceptions, as were these.

[karen091866]

What a total dumb-@ss!
Yep--his rehab will be difficult, true enough. ---and just imagine how hard he's going to have to work at learning how to smoke crack with one arm.
A crying shame.
I tend to agree with the sentiments of others posting, grateful that he wasn't behind the wheel of a car.

[gerryrigger]

To the authorities: please do not destroy the alligator! He was in his own environs, not in somebody's backyard, and the crackhead intruded and presented himself as bait. I cannot bring myself to thank you for risking life and limb to save wasted humanity's life. If this person is truly grateful, for the rest of his life he should change his ways and do good unto others, starting with himself. Only then will I say thank you for saving his life.

[nothappyatall]

Bet he won't do THAT again LOL!!!

[olebd]

He stands to make millions now with book deals and on the lecture circuit. That is, if he's not illiterate.

[just1vet-2009]

Sounds to me as though the gators were full from feeding on something or someone else. This guy is in shock and or hiding facts. I believe he was fed to the gators and they did not like his tastes.

[jjreding-2009]

This guy was a jerk, yes, and crack is a tool of the devil (human devils), but the guy is still a human being and is not deserving of the vitriol in these posts I've seen. He shouldn't have been where he was and he CERTAINLY shouldn't have been doing what he was doing, however ...

[pensacola8-2009]

You folks who sympathize with alligators need to know something. Once they loose their fear of people, they attack them. Once they successfully attacked a person, they adapt their diets and prefer eating people over their other options. I see children in Louisiana and all over the South play with them and throw potato chips and other things to feed them, but this is not helping any alligator respect a human and maintain a distance. To a gator, once you tried eating a human, you'll never go back to rodents, ducks or fish. To a gator, humans are like potato chips ...no alligator can eat just one. It is a sad fact of life, but our presence is unhealthy for any alligator. Those alligator farms in Mississippi and Lousianna, who charge admission to watch alligators frenzy over a chicken should be out-lawed, along with the putt-putt golf courses in Orlando, who sell dry dog food to visitors who want to feed their small captive alligators. What do you think these alligators will do when they get too big to keep? Alligators aren't stupid, humans are. Their encounters with humans are always their downfall...as with many other animals. I advocate good relations with wild animals, but this is best done by keeping them wild and isolated from us. Maybe the wild animals feel the same.

[ecuadoriana]

Oh good grief, it just occurred to me that this dumbbutt will probably find a lawyer to sue the alligator for biting him, the park for allowing the alligator to live in the lake, the police for not saving him quicker, his mommy for not dressing him properly before sending him out to play, the dealer & the manufacturer of the crack cocaine....

[ecuadoriana]

Pensacola8- I couldn't agree with you more. Here in Florida people insist on building their million dollar mega mansions on the edge of the ocean or on swamp land (read: gator territory!). The joke is that they then name their anal little segre-gated communities fancy pants names like "Marsh Creek" (former alligator swamp now filled in), "Wild Oaks" (not one left in sight), "Plantation Preserve" (tribute to the former slaves?), "Waterway Trace" (not a trace of fresh water, only pools of chemical runoff from the golf courses), "Hammock Dunes" (the hammock has been clear cut & the dunes are washing away), etc.

I'm all for the gators thinning the herd until people can come to their senses & recognise that the ammount of insanity in this world is in direct corrolation to how far we have removed ourselves from nature.

[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?

[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.

[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?

[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 :)

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

[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.

[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.

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..........

[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.

moms sure are great aren't tibu987, LOL

[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.

[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?

[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.

[ganjaman22]

mmmmmmmm...crack cocaine.

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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.