Viral photo of alligator chomping into Florida deputy’s patrol car resurfaces over 12 years later

Florida Crime of The Week: Gator shoplifted

A woman allegedly "borrowed" an alligator from her previous job for a birthday photoshoot and kept it inside a hotel bathtub, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. - It seems like the Alachua Sheriff's Office was feeling nostalgic this week in an attempt to revamp their Facebook presence.

On Wednesday, deputies updated their official Facebook account's profile picture and cover photo – but the latter is what is turning heads on social media (again). For nearly 24 hours between Wednesday and Thursday, the Alachua County Sheriff's Office updated their cover photo to an incident that happened in 2011 where an alligator bit the front bumper of a patrol car.

That happened back in May 2011 when Deputy Victor Borrero responded to a call for an alligator in a neighborhood. That alligator, however, bit into the front bumper of Borrero's patrol car and wouldn't let go, according to the sheriff's office at the time.

Photo: Alachua County Sheriffs Office

In an attempt to dislodge the gator, Borrero hit reverse on the car, but the alligator held on and continued to pull the front bumper until the frame was destroyed. The front bumper and grill were damaged.

The alligator was eventually removed by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission trapper.

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Users in the comments were thrilled that this post made it back to the top of their feed again.

"This photo still makes me chuckle," one user wrote.

"If I remember the gator won and got the bumper. lol," another user wrote.

"#WayBackWednesday," the High Springs Fire Department commented.

The sheriff's office has since updated their cover photo, but the trip down memory lane was fun!