Officer gets creative in police report about an alligator attack

TAMPA — Police reports are often rich with jargon — phrases like "victim succumbed to his injuries," or "victim advised that defendant did knowingly and willingly enter his home without permission."

Not so for a report filed by Tampa police officer Terry Ashe, who wrote a colorful narrative about an alligator that attacked his city-owned Ford Taurus in Pasco County on Oct. 27.

"As I was driving down the single lane, dirt road, adjacent to an old cemetery, I observed a large, menacing, dark object lying in the road obstructing my right of way," Ashe wrote. "With rain pouring down, mist and fog shrouding my vision, large oak trees laden with Spanish moss hanging down around my vehicle, I was uncertain as to what lay in my path."

Ashe had come upon a big alligator, or in his words, "this menacing man eater."

He eased his vehicle toward the "ancient reptile" to scare him off, but the gator evidently took that as a threat and lurched forward, Ashe wrote.

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