Police captured a runaway alligator after the reptile spent two weeks on the run.

The animal was apprehended on Thursday (07/09) around 10pm after it was spotted by a local in Piscataway township, New Jersey, USA.

A video shows Piscataway PD Officer Ian Paglia apprehending the animal by holding its jaws closed with his feet and tying a rope around it.

The reptile, which had been on the run for two weeks, was first spotted in Victor Crowell Park - four miles away - on August 23, prompting the park's closure.

The four-foot-long alligator successfully evaded the police and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for over a two weeks before it was captured.

The reptile suffered no serious injuries and has been handed over to New Jersey Fish and Wildlife.

Chief of Middlesex County Police, Matthew Geist said: "The presence of this alligator in our waterways posed a threat to the public safety of our community, which is our paramount mission as a police department."

The alligator will now be transported to Cape May County Zoo until it can be given to a Florida sanctuary.

Piscataway PD said: "Many officers from the afternoon and night squads responded and the alligator was subdued and restrained by Patrol Officer Ian Paglia until the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Fish & Wildlife Division took custody of it."

"A Division Lieutenant indicated that the alligator will eventually be adopted by an area zoo or sanctuary."

"Many thanks to all of the officers who quickly worked to protect our community, most notably Officer Paglia for his courage and quick thinking."