WHEAT RIDGE, Colo — A Wheat Ridge Police Department officer who was searching a vehicle at a trailhead this week got quite a surprise when he opened a plastic tub inside the car.
Body camera footage released by police on Tuesday shows the moment when the officer opened the tub at Prospect Park, at 4005 Kipling St., and found a full-grown rattlesnake inside. He quickly shut the tub and backed away.
"You've got a rattlesnake in here?" he asked the vehicle's owner. "... Are you kidding me?"
The wild moment happened Sunday night as the officer was checking park trailheads and saw a 2013 Toyota Camry with drug paraphernalia in plain sight, according to police.
Around that time, an Uber driver dropped off the car's owner, who said they lent the car to a friend and were told to pick it up at this location. The owner gave the officer consent to search the car, which was when the officer found the snake.
"There's a [expletive] live rattlesnake in this bin!" the officer said. "It's rattling at me. Did you know about that?"
The officer told one of his colleagues on scene that the snake tried to snap at him and then asked the owners, "Does he have any other things that might bite me?"
In addition to finding the large venomous snake, the officer also found methamphetamine, tin foil with burn marks that suggested fentanyl usage, and a gun. The car's owner won't face charges, but investigators are trying to find the person who borrowed the vehicle.
The drug paraphernalia, drugs and gun were booked into evidence. The snake and other property were left in the car, and officers recommended to the owner that they take the snake to a 24-hour veterinarian, a Wheat Ridge Police spokesman said.
Watch the body camera video below:
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