Police captured a runaway alligator after the reptile spent two weeks on the run.<br /><br />The animal was apprehended on Thursday (07/09) around 10pm after it was spotted by a local in Piscataway township, New Jersey, USA. <br /><br />A video shows Piscataway PD Officer Ian Paglia apprehending the animal by holding its jaws closed with his feet and tying a rope around it.<br /><br />The reptile, which had been on the run for two weeks, was first spotted in Victor Crowell Park - four miles away - on August 23, prompting the park's closure.<br /><br />The four-foot-long alligator successfully evaded the police and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for over a two weeks before it was captured.<br /><br />The reptile suffered no serious injuries and has been handed over to New Jersey Fish and Wildlife.<br /><br />Chief of Middlesex County Police, Matthew Geist said: “The presence of this alligator in our waterways posed a threat to the public safety of our community, which is our paramount mission as a police department."<br /><br />The alligator will now be transported to Cape May County Zoo until it can be given to a Florida sanctuary.<br /><br />Piscataway PD said: "Many officers from the afternoon and night squads responded and the alligator was subdued and restrained by Patrol Officer Ian Paglia until the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Fish & Wildlife Division took custody of it.<br /><br />"A Division Lieutenant indicated that the alligator will eventually be adopted by an area zoo or sanctuary.<br /><br />"Many thanks to all of the officers who quickly worked to protect our community, most notably Officer Paglia for his courage and quick thinking."
