MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — A southwest Missouri police officer his being called a hero for calmly peeling a 5-foot python off a woman’s arm after the snake sank its teeth into her arm and began to squeeze tightly.

The Springfield News-Leader reports Mount Vernon Police Cpl. Shaun Cobb went to the home of Leadeana Oetker on Friday after she told a 911 operator the python had latched onto her arm.

Oetker says the snake grabbed her when she reached into the 20-year-old reptile’s cage. Her stepson called 911 when her hand and arm started turning purple.

Cobb used the dull edge of a butter knife to force the snake’s jaw apart so he could detach it from her arm.

Oetker says she’ll let her boyfriend feed the snake from now on.