Smokey the Bear isn’t known for actually being OUT ON THE BEAT, but if you tick him off enough, he’ll come after you.
An unidentified man was reportedly driving around Florida, going to state parks, and stealing Smokey Bear signs, the wooden ones that warn about forest and wildfire risks. The guy would then turn around and list them on Facebook Marketplace for up to $2,000 each.
But Florida’s commissioner of agriculture, Wilton Simpson, says the suspect was caught in the act, and that Smokey was actually on-hand when he was cuffed and loaded into a patrol vehicle.
Simpson said, “Smokey is always around our forest and just got lucky today that he saw the bad guy and got him handcuffed.” He also called the thief “an idiot.”
Criminal charges are pending, but Simpson said the guy could face jail time.
