Tampa Police 'Standoff' With Black Bear Ends Peacefully

Tampa, FL — Tampa Police officers found themselves involved in a standoff of sorts Tuesday morning.

According to the agency, one of its officers was responding to an unrelated call around 5:30 a.m. when he saw a large animal running by him.

“At first he wasn’t sure if it was a bear or a very large dog,” the agency wrote in an email to media. “He determined that it was a bear and attempted to follow him.

It seems the bear, estimated to be about 6 feet tall, led the officer on a bit of a chase before deciding to enter the backyard at 4213 E. Linebaugh Ave. and climb a tree.

Early Tuesday morning, the agency reported a trapper had been called in to catch the critter so it could be returned to the wild.

Just before 10 a.m., police said officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission came out and tranquillized the bear.

"He fell out of the tree into net," the department noted on Twitter. The bear, police said, "appears to be fine."

Photo courtesy of the Tampa Police Department