Sarasota police capture boa constrictor

SARASOTA -- A 4-foot-long boa constrictor located outside an apartment's porch was captured by Sarasota police officers Thursday morning.

The snake is now in the care of Sarasota County Sheriff's Office Animal Services.

At about 6:30 a.m. Thursday, Sarasota police officers were dispatched to the 200 block of North Shade Avenue, Sarasota, responding to a call that a snake was inside the porch.

Sarasota police officers Todd Tschetter and Sean Gleason captured the snake before calling Animal Services to come and retrieve it, according to a news release.

"Officer Tschetter used a pole that was already inside his patrol vehicle to wrangle the snake while Officer Gleason held a pillowcase, given to him by the homeowner who called dispatch, to hold the snake," according to the news release.

Claire Aronson, Manatee County reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024. Follow her on Twitter@Claire_Aronson.

This story was originally published March 17, 2016 at 2:31 PM with the headline "Sarasota police capture boa constrictor ."