A Lakeland man whose left hand was recently bitten off by an alligator talked about the horrifying incident for the first time in an exclusive interview with Bay News 9.

  • Jesse Kinsinger ran from police after fight with his mother on May 11
  • He was attacked by an alligator while trying to cross a lake
  • Kinsinger lost his left arm at the elbow
  • PICTURES: Click here to see pictures of Jesse Kinsinger (Warning: Some of the images may be graphic.)

"His mouth was a 180 degrees wide open," said Jesse Kinsinger, 21. "Nothing, but white and tongue and teeth."

Over the weekend, Kinsinger was released from Lakeland Regional Health Center after four surgeries that required his left forearm to be amputated at the elbow. A spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Gary Morse, said they captured a 10-foot, 2-inch gator, the night after the attack and a necropsy confirmed it was the same animal involved in the bite. 

"I wish they would’ve left him alone," Kinsinger said. "It's the cops' fault that I was in that water, in his environment, not the gator's fault."

Kinsinger said he was having a psychological episode at the time and Lakeland Police were called after he got into an argument with his mother in the parking lot of The Landings apartment complex on May 11. Even though he had committed no crime, Kinsinger said he got scared once he heard the police were coming and took off into the woods. 

"I shouldn’t have to choose to swim into this gator-infested water because of the fear I have," he said. "The police were coming at me with the dogs."

Lakeland Police said they requested assistance from the Polk County Sheriff's Office. A helicopter and blood hounds were used to search for Kinsinger because his mother was concerned for his safety.

Kinsinger said he was heading back to the apartment complex when he saw officers with dogs in the area and decided to cut across the lake.

"I thought I was going to drown about half way through and I heard, 'mmm-mmm', just like a gator makes a noise," he said. "I turned around and right behind me, there they are, two gator eyes flashing red and blue, ‘cause the cops were right there."

Kinsinger said the gators eyes were reflecting the police lights and then it did an exploratory bite on his upper thigh.

"It grabbed me on my leg. I felt like it was just feeling me out," he said. "I got marks on both sides of my thighs. It grabbed me real quick like, bam, just a touch."

Once the gator released him, Kinsinger said he began swimming like Michael Phelps and was close to shore when the gator attacked a second time.

"I turn back one second to see and he grabs my arm, bam, 15 feet away from the shore," he said. "As soon as it crunched and he locked on, he started doing the barrel roll. I didn’t know how big this gator was... I’m rolling with it."

Kinsinger said after the gator ripped off his hand, he was able to escape.

"I crawled myself out of the water," he said. "After I got out of the water, I squeezed my arm and put my thumb on this vein and I screamed."

Kinsinger's brother-in-law, Mike Taylor, ran to his aid and used a t-shirt as a tourniquet until paramedics arrived. Lakeland Police said air support spotted Kinsinger lying on the ground at 5026 Long Lake Circle at 9:52 p.m.

Kinsinger was not charged with any crime and was placed under the Baker Act due to his condition, according to police.

"For people to post on there (social media), 'good', 'I hope he got what he deserved,'" he said. "I didn’t attack a policeman, I didn’t commit a crime, I didn’t do anything wrong. I have horrible PTSD. How many people you know have been shot twice and lived to tell the story?"

Kinsinger said he was shot back in 2012, while trying to protect his mother during a home invasion in Plant City. His family has set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for Kinsinger's medical expenses.

This Gofundme.com site is not managed by Bay News 9. For more information on how the site works and the rules visit  http://www.gofundme.com/safety.

Jesse Kinsinger was bitten by an alligator in a Polk County lake near his apartment.

Kinsinger said he was having a psychological episode at the time and Lakeland Police were called after he got into an argument with his mother in the parking lot of The Landings apartment complex on May 11.

The gator also bit Kinsinger his upper thigh.