If it's the same species of gator that's in Florida, use precaution. What the guys says is generally true, 99% of the time they're harmless, I've swam and fished near them many times with no problems. There are however documented attacks on humans including some fatal ones.

When I lived in Florida, mostly what I heard of was small lapdogs disappearing from the edges of suburban ponds where people had fed the gators. If a critter will eat beaver or otter, they'll eat a small pet given certain circumstances. I don't care what the officer said, NEVER let a small child play near the edge of a pond where a gator of any size is known to be.