Free Republic

An alligator was handed a joke award by a Louisiana sheriff after attacking a man suspected of driving while impaired after he tried to escape across a swamp. The unnamed reptile was given a 'deputy of the year' prize by St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office after the attack on Victor Rivas, 40, on June 7. Rivas was spotted driving a Toyota recklessly along Interstate 10, the sheriff's office said. The car had a blown tire and sustained damage from a collision with a concrete barrier. Louisiana State Troopers conducted a traffic stop on Interstate 310 and reported that Rivas, of...

Fleeing from St. Charles Parish authorities, a River Ridge man drove a stolen Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office squad car into the Mississippi River early Sunday, according to both law enforcement agencies. David Mitchell Jr., 22, of River Ridge managed to get out of the car as it started to sink about 30 yards from the river bank, said Capt. Patrick Yoes of the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office. A towboat operator dragged Mitchell aboard after he struggled in the current for some time. The incident started in Metairie at about 6:10 a.m., when a Jefferson Parish sheriff's deputy, after investigating...