‘Once in a lifetime for me’: Chatham County officers who saved a suspect from alligators are now on national TV

CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - You’ve probably heard of a suspect trying to outrun police. But outswim alligators? That’s a different story — and now it’s on national television.

The A&E network’s series “Swamp Patrol” is spotlighting the Chatham County Police Department’s Marine Patrol and Patrol Division after officers found themselves rescuing a fleeing suspect from a pond — with two alligators in it.

See our previous coverage:

Here’s how it went down

It started on July 1, 2022, when a suspect jumped into a pond near the Al Henderson golf course in an attempt to get away from officers. What he apparently didn’t know was that two alligators were already in that water — and they quickly began circling him.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Suspect pulled from pond with alligators on Chatham Co. golf course

What followed was a nearly two-hour standoff, all of it captured on body camera footage that “Swamp Patrol” uses to tell the story. Officers said they repeatedly tried to convince the suspect to get out of the pond. He repeatedly refused. In the meantime, officers did what they could to keep the alligators at bay.

The moment an officer jumped in

The stalemate finally broke when the department’s Marine Patrol Unit brought in its amphibious vehicle, driven by Corporal Winston Maxey. But even that wasn’t enough to get the suspect to cooperate.

So Marine Patrol Corporal Heath Wynn jumped into the alligator-inhabited water himself to pull the suspect out and take him into custody.

“I definitely thought it was pretty chaotic,” Cpl. Wynn said. “You got helicopters going, you got alligators in the water, I mean, we’re freaking driving an amphibious vehicle over a golf course. It was just a wild event. It was a once in a lifetime for me.”

Wynn says he was surprised when he received a text that their body camera footage will be seen on national tv.

“I’m glad they got to see a little peak of some of the wild things we deal with. No days is the same,” Cpl. Wynn said.

Season One, Episode Two of “Swamp Patrol” recently premiered on A&E and is also available to watch on YouTube.