{"id":410432,"date":"2026-01-16T07:32:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T07:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/410432\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T07:32:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T07:32:07","slug":"florida-deputy-goes-viral-after-handcuffing-runaway-emu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/410432\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Deputy Goes Viral After ‘Handcuffing’ Runaway Emu"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEED TO KNOW
\nA Florida deputy goes viral after bodycam footage shows him chasing a runaway emu off a roadwayHe jokes, \u201cI\u2019ve never handcuffed an emu before,\u201d before securing the bird\u2019s legs to stop it from kickingThe sheriff\u2019s office says the emu has been reunited with its owner and returned home safely<\/p>\n

A Florida deputy is going viral after the St. Johns County Sheriff\u2019s Office shared a wild bodycam video<\/a> on Facebook. The clip showed Cpl. Keisler responding to an unexpected call involving a runaway emu.\n<\/p>\n

According to the sheriff\u2019s office, deputies responded Friday after reported of the large, flightless bird loose on County Road 13. The roadway was about 20 miles west of St. Augustine, and the video captured the chase from start to finish.\n<\/p>\n

From the moment he got the call, Keisler sounded both amused and focused on the job. \u201cInteresting, I\u2019m in pursuit of an emu,\u201d he says in the footage.\n<\/p>\n

As he followed behind the bird, the deputy kept dispatch updated while the emu moved down the road. \u201cI\u2019m currently behind the emu,\u201d he says, adding, \u201cHe\u2019s running back southbound in the middle of the road.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Emu.<\/p>\n

St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office<\/p>\n

Keisler eventually got out of his patrol vehicle and tried to guide the bird away from traffic. \u201cYou have some big ol\u2019 talons,\u201d he says as he keeps his distance.\n<\/p>\n

But the sheriff\u2019s office said the emu wasn’t interested in cooperating once it was off the road. According to SJCO, it \u201cignored his commands,\u201d kicked several times and \u201cfled on foot recklessly.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

After a short chase, Keisler cornered the bird near what appeared to be the enclosure it may have escaped from. \u201cI\u2019ll be honest with you, I\u2019ve never handcuffed an emu before,\u201d he admitted.\n<\/p>\n

Still, the deputy explained why handcuffs are the best option in the moment. \u201cThey\u2019ll fit around his legs and that\u2019ll keep him from kicking,\u201d he says.\n<\/p>\n

Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\n<\/p>\n

According to the sheriff\u2019s office, Keisler secured the emu using a makeshift lasso before restraining its legs to stop it from kicking. The lighthearted tone continued in the video as he asked, \u201cAre you done resisting?\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to have to charge you \u2014 don\u2019t talk back to me,\u201d Keisler joked in the video. The sheriff\u2019s office said he\u2019d able to detain the emu without causing any harm or injury.\n<\/p>\n

In the Facebook post, Keisler reflected on just how rare the moment was in his career. \u201cIn my 25 years, I\u2019ve never handcuffed an emu,\u201d he could be heard saying off camera, adding, \u201cThis is definitely a new one.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

According to SJCO, the emu was reunited with its owner and returned home safely. The sheriff\u2019s office adds that \u201call criminal charges against the emu were dropped.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEED TO KNOW A Florida deputy goes viral after bodycam footage shows him chasing a runaway emu off…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410433,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-410432","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}