DENVER. A Colorado police officer encountered much more than ordinary paraphernalia during a Sunday night drug search in a car.
The officer was inspecting trailheads at Prospect Park in Wheat Ridge when he saw drug paraphernalia in plain view inside a car, reports the Wheat Ridge Police Department.
“Around the same time, the car’s owner was dropped off at the location by an Uber,” the department stated in a post on social media platform X.
The owner informed police that a friend had borrowed the car and instructed him to retrieve it from that spot. The owner also granted the officer permission to search the vehicle.
During the search, the officer discovered drugs, a firearm, and a large plastic bin. Body camera footage captures him opening the bin to reveal a fully-grown rattlesnake inside.
“Yo, you got a rattlesnake in here? What the (expletive) dude. Are you kidding me? There’s a (expletive) live rattlesnake in this bin,” the officer exclaimed in the video.
The car owner was equally shocked.
“Does he have any other thing that might bite me?” the officer asked as he continued the search.
The owner will not face charges currently. Police are still attempting to reach the owner’s friend, as there are “a lot of questions” remaining.
The full body camera video is available on the Wheat Ridge Police Department’s social media accounts. According to the department, the drugs and firearm were booked by police, but the snake was left behind. Police advised the owner to take the snake to a vet.
