56 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: FEBRUARY 2007

Reptile gets Tasered
A I4-foot female Burmese python
named Chloe used to be considered
the staff and spectators' favorite
among all the animals at the local aquarium in Tarpon Springs,

Evildoer
Bruce Schneier, chieftechnology officer at BT Counterpane,
a security consulting firm in
Mountain View, California, was
recently asked in an interview if
he thought the Transportation
Security Administration's use
of "no-fly" lists was an effective
means of preventing terrorism.
The root problem, as Schneier sees it, is the TSA's reliance on IDs that are so easily
obtained under false pretenses.
"It would be wonderful if Osarna bin Laden carried a photo
ID that listed his occupation
of 'Evildoer,'" permitting the
authorities to pluck him from
a line, Mr. Schneier said. "The
problem is, we try to pretend
that identity maps to intentionality. But it doesn't."

Florida. But that was before
Chloe mistook the hand of
I8-year-old Alison Cobianchi,
an aquarium employee and St.
Petersburg College freshman,
for something to eat. The snake
attacked, sinking her teeth
into Cobianchi's knuckles and
wrapping around her arm and
waist.
The staff had never had any
problems with the large reptile
and had no ideajust how strong
the animal's grip was. In fact,
it took a jolt with a Taser to get
Chloe to unhinge her jaw from
the girl's arm and return to its Burmese Pythons can grow to enormous sizes and can get very hungry.
cage.
Cobianchi, who was treated at a daily snake presentation, during
In what could be the first use of a
hospital for minor hand wounds,
which handlers discuss the natural Taser by police on a snake, Chloe
said she would never go near a snake habitat and growth cycle of pythons was Tasered. The animal released
again.
to school kids and other visitors.
her grasp about three seconds later,
"It was definitely the most scary
But Chloe had been acting strange- said Sgt. Allen MacKenzie. The
and painful thing that has ever hap- ly all day, waiting by the front door snake was not seriously injured.
pened to me," she told reporters
of her cage. Cobianchi slid open
For now, the aquarium's snake
during her recovery process at her the cage door as usual at about 1:30 show has been indefinitely canceled.
home.
PM.
Konger is considering purchasing
"I knew I wasn't going to die, but I
In a flash Chloe struck, seizing his own handheld in case any of the
was worried I wouldn't get my hand several of Cobianchi's fingers as a animals get out of line again.
But Cobianchi has had it with
back."
small crowd of visitors watched in
The incident occurred as Cobi- horror.
snakes.
Visitors were quickly cleared from
"She was my favorite animal that
anchi was preparing to take Chloe
the area and police were called.
we had. Not anymore."
out of her cage for the aquarium's