A 3-foot alligator found swimming in a New Jersey hotel pool last month was part of a rap video shoot, according to multiple reports.
Police found the alligator during an Aug. 15 raid of the Bayview Inn & Suites in Atlantic City, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner said. Police were searching for a man who was wanted on a charge of homicide in connection with a 2016 drug overdose death.
Drugs were seized, authorities made multiple arrests and a pit bull was shot and killed by an Atlantic City police officer “when the animal made an aggressive move toward the officers as they attempted to enter a room,” Tyner said. He added that 33 people were removed from the hotel, which was left heavily damaged by 2012’s Hurricane Sandy.
Officers with Animal Control of South Jersey were called after police found a 3-foot alligator swimming in the hotel’s pool. Tyner said the reptile was safely removed and taken to a zoo in Cape May County.
Before it was seized, the alligator played a starring role in the music video for the single "Damn," featuring Sean Temple, also known as Style1, NJ.com reported. The music video was partially shot at the Bayview Inn & Suites, according to the news site.
An alligator on a leash with its mouth taped shut could be seen in a behind-the-scenes video posted to YouTube. (Warning: The video contains explicit language. Viewer discretion is advised.)
Police arrested Temple and Bashawn Whitted-Scott, 25, who is also featured in the video posted to YouTube, last week in connection with a spate of burglaries reported in Egg Harbor and Hamilton townships last month, the Press of Atlantic City reported.
Temple and Whitted-Scott were arrested on charges including robbery, conspiracy, aggravated assault and conspiracy to make terroristic threats, the Press reported, although police told the newspaper that the charges were not linked to the music video shoot.
Cape May County Park & Zoo officials told the newspaper that the alligator will be taken to an animal reserve outside Tampa Bay, Florida, “sometime this year.”
