ORLANDO, Fla. – It wasn't your typical police chase.
Kelsey Wilkinson was taking her nightly jog around Lake Eola Wednesday evening when she noticed something unusual. It was an Orlando Police officer in full uniform being chased by one of the large, white swans known to frequent the area.
The sight stopped Wilkinson in her tracks. She stood on the other side of the side walk -- far enough away from the swan's wrath -- and filmed the odd interaction.
“I stopped to watch it and I just saw the cop running around his truck and I just stopped to film it,” Wilkinson said. “I thought it was hilarious."
The officer, identified by OPD as officer Brad Miglio, apparently thought it was funny as well. Wilkinson said he was giggling as he whipped out his phone and filmed the angry animal head-on.
“It was funny and I’m glad he thought it was funny, until the swan started freaking out on him,” Wilkinson said.
Unfortunately, OPD said the officer accidentally deleted the video showing the game of "duck, duck, swan," as Internet commenters have been calling it. But the police department did post video officer Alex Chase recorded from the safety of the truck.
"Where you going? I ain't staying here," Chase said as Miglio makes a lap around the truck.
The 30-second video ends with Miglio clearly cracking up as the swan waddles at full speed, honking in the background.
Wilkinson said she loves animal videos and always watches them with her boyfriend, Darrell Harbin. The couple quickly realized they struck comedy gold and decided the video was worth sharing.
Harbin posted the video to Twitter with the caption, "Goose assaulting an officer in Orlando, FL. Lake Eola Park," and shortly thereafter, the comments started rolling in.
“It’s crazy how fast this has spread,” Wilkinson said. “Everybody loves it, they think it’s great.”
It's no secret to anyone who lives in the Orlando area that sometimes, the Lake Eola swans can be a bit cantankerous, but this was the first time Wilkinson ever saw one attack.
For OPD, the swans are a standard job hazard. About a year ago, an officer on his bike was chased outside the Eola historic house. Watch that video here.
In 2012, News 6 did a report about a large male whopper swan named Chapita that was known to walk through traffic and attack lake-goers. Luckily, the swan filmed recently didn't ruffle as many feathers.