- Some folks like to feed the birds in their yard.
Others put out milk for a stray cat or two.
But in Florida...
- They do things a little differently.
- Come on. Come on.
♪ ♪♪
- This is my backyard.
And this is my fence.
[gate clacks]
♪♪ ♪
And now I wanna introduce you to Hank.
[ding]
He's my alligator.
Hank's been with us for three years, at least.
He's a big boy.
He's probably a 10-foot alligator.
♪ ♪♪
She doesn't go to anyone else's houses.
Come on!
♪ ♪♪
- 67 year old Paul Fortin of Daytona Beach
was fond of feeding bagels to the alligator
who lived behind his house.
- Come on, baby. There you go.
Come on.
Come on!
He's a good boy.
[grunts] He lets me pet him.
Come on, baby.
Just don't eat my foot, okay?
♪♪ ♪
- But soon after he posted this video on social media,
one of Fortin's neighbors
contacted Florida Fish and wildlife
who dispatched an officer to his home.
[door clicks]
- I imagine you know why I'm here.
I'm with Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission.
I'm here about you feeding an alligator.
I have a video of you feeding an alligator.
So if you wanna talk about it, that's fine.
If not, that's fine. I'll file charges with the--
- Yes, sir.
- I'll walk around with you. - I will--I will come up--
I will call them and they'll come up here.
- Okay. I'll meet you out back.
♪ ♪
[buzzing]
- And when you're out here feeding the turtles,
you don't see alligators?
- I've seen an alligator--
the night they called was the first time I saw an alligator.
But no, I wasn't feeding them.
I was feeding them turtles!
If you got a video of him feeding,
I was feeding the turtles.
- Okay, and what're you feeding the turtles?
You want--bread! Just bread. That's it.
- I don't need you yelling at me.
I'm just here investigating a complaint.
- Will do, sir.
- Thank you for your time.
[dog barks]
- Thank you for your time.
♪ ♪♪
- Two hours later... [police radio chatter]
The office returned with backup.
♪♪ ♪
[dog barks]
- Fish and Wildlife.
- Hey, Paul, I think we got off to a wrong start last time,
so we're gonna try it again, all right?
So the feeding of alligators and turtles
is technically the same charge,
which is a non-criminal infraction.
- Are you serious? Turtles too?
- Yes. - Yep, can't do that anymore.
Technically the same charge.
And because we got a complaint on it,
our hands are kinda tied, so we have to write you a citation.
♪♪ ♪
- But again, it's a non-criminal citation.
It's not an arrestable offense.
But you will be receiving the $100 citation.
- Well, unfortunately,
we actually have a video of you feeding an alligator.
So there's an alligator clearly--
- Well, I mean, we have a video of you feeding him.
♪ ♪♪
That's not my house.
And this is my fence.
That is not my house.
He's my alligator.
- Where?
- Where? I'm in the what?
- Right there, sir. - Yeah, that's an alligator.
- That's an alligator. - That's an alligator.
- That looks like a turtle to me.
- Absolutely not. - That's an alligator.
- Right, right. Yeah, right.
Okay, what do you want? - It doesn't matter--
- Why don't you arrest me?
- Why would you want us to arrest you?
- Because I wanna show you that's a turtle!
- Well, it's against the law to feed turtles too,
you understand? - Okay! Good.
- That's--that's an option, sir.
You can take it to court.
Why are you becoming so aggressive?
- [strained] Because that's a turtle!
- Sir, sir. - I showed you.
Didn't I--didn't I call the turtles?
I said come to the backyard.
Let me call the turtles. The turtles came, right?
- Paul--is that your first name? Can I call you Paul?
- Hey, hey, hey, you can't go. You can't go away.
You can't go away. - No, no, no.
- Hey, you can't go away. You can't go away.
Stop resisting. Stop resisting. - Okay.
- Are you gonna sign the citation or no?
- Sign the citation right now.
Sign the citation right now.
All right, turn around. Turn around.
Put your hands behind your back.
Let's go. Do what you gotta do.
- No, I'm not--
- You're all on video, by the way, so it's all--
everything--everything's on recording.
- Good, good! I'm glad it is!
Unlock me. I'll sign the citation.
Okay, 'cause you are going to jail.
I wanna get arrested. - Sir.
- I want to get arrested.
- All I wanted you to do is sign a citation.
- Then you should've explained what the citation was for.
- We did. - Feeding a turtle?
- Get him in here.
- Sir, we can discuss that in court.
- Fortin was arrested and taken to Volusia County Jail
for refusing to sign a citation
and resisting an officer without violence.
He pled nolo contendere,
or no contest, to those charges
and was sentenced to two days in jail.
A charge of feeding wildlife or freshwater fish
with food or garbage was dismissed.