I think the officer is clowning around for the camera. The sculpture doesn’t look that much like a real alligator, plus nobody with any sense would try to grab the tail of a gator that size.
Exactly- from a distance it mighta looked real, but the closer they got=- the more obvious it became it was fake- the following pretty much makes it clear it was for laughs
“”Crikey! Look at the size of that gator one of our officers tried rounding up on Treasure Island Beach last night,” the Treasure Island Police Department wrote in posting a photo of the faux gator to Facebook.”
Cops have done similar on many occasions to try to lighten the mood of the public some