Clearwater officer escorts family of ducks across busy intersection

CLEARWATER (FOX 13) - When a Clearwater driver saw a patrol car's emergency lights, he thought a serious situation was unfolding, but it turned out to be something much cuter.

Glenn Peterson was heading home on Wednesday afternoon after running some errands. Around 2:45 p.m., he stopped at a red light at Gulf to Bay Boulevard and Lake Avenue. That's when he noticed an officer sitting in the intersection with his emergency lights on. His initial instinct was to start recording video.

"I was thinking a chase or something was going on. So, I turned on my camera on my phone," he explained to FOX 13, "and noticed there was a mommy duck crossing the street with her baby ducks, so at that point, I recorded as much as I could."

He posted the video on the Clearwater Police Department's Facebook page, writing "Clearwater's finest stopping traffic so mama duck and babies can cross…good job officer." After about 20 minutes, his notifications "blew up" and the agency shared it onto their own page.

The agency thanked their officer for providing a "safe passage for our feathered friends."