Cow bolts butcher shop, police give chase

Cow bolts butcher shop, police give chase

POCATELLO, Idaho -- A 1,000-pound cow being prepared for slaughter jumped a 6-foot fence and bolted through the streets of Pocatello before police shot and killed it after a lengthy pursuit.

Pocatello police chief Scott Marchand told the Idaho State Journal his officers fired two shots at the heifer because it posed a safety risk.

The cow had escaped from Anderson Custom Pack, a meat processing business, on Friday afternoon.

Early in the chase, an officer shot the cow in the head but the wounded animal kept running.

The cow led police and animal-control officers on a chase on foot and in vehicles through the city's north side. It rammed an animal control truck and two police cars.

The animal was eventually cornered in a residential backyard about 3 miles away, and was shot and killed by a police officer.