- The Washington Times - Thursday, March 13, 2025

An officer with the Bradenton Police Department in Florida helped complete a pizza delivery over the weekend so the driver could avoid an 8-foot alligator in the driveway.

Officer Tolson, whose first name was not provided, was patrolling a neighborhood for people ages 55 and older when he spotted the alligator wandering around. He contacted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to retrieve the reptile and waited on standby to keep people away, BPD said in a release Thursday.

The alligator stopped in a residential driveway — right before a delivery driver arrived with a pizza. Officer Tolson agreed to take the pizza from the wary driver and deliver it at the rear of the residence.



When the customer opened her front door, he warned her to close it, then handed over the pizza at the back of the house as planned. He also took a picture of the gator on the customer’s phone at her request.

Officer Tolson’s body camera captured the incident, which was uploaded to YouTube.

FWC personnel later arrived, trapped and relocated the alligator, BPD said.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.

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