Bull goes on rampage; animal run over, shot by police

Bull - generic photo; image is suggestive, not actual, of the bull involved in the attached report.

CEDAR CITY – A loose bull went on a tirade through Cedar City Monday morning, knocking down two women and stopping traffic on Main Street before finally being run over, and then shot, by officers with the Cedar City Police Department.

According to a press release from CCPD, the excitement began at 7 a.m. near the cross section of 700 West and 400 South. When officers responded to the scene, the bull was scared off and began running toward Main Street, charging and knocking down a female pedestrian along the way.

Officers finally managed to corral the bull in the doorway of Watch Me Grow Children’s Boutique, 535 S. Main St., Suite 4 in Cedar City. Store manager Karyn Arnold said there was no damage to the storefront but the owners did have to call someone to come and pressure wash all of the “poo” they found on the sidewalk.

“They thought it was possibly someone’s dog,” she said. “But they said it was a lot of poo, so I am guessing it was from that bull.”

She said the store was closed when it happened, so nobody was even aware of what had taken place until it was being shared all over Facebook.

Witness Connie Finn said she was working the morning shift as a server at All American Diner when she noticed cars outside were suddenly stopping and traffic was backing up. She said all of the commotion between the stopped traffic and the police sirens drew her attention to the window just in time to see a massive bull run across Main Street and head into the parking lot of Watch Me Grow.

Finn said her first reaction was to follow the action and try to get some video footage of the events as they were unfolding. She said the officers warned her to stay back and advised that she take off her red jacket because it could provoke the already angry bull.

“I wasn’t really thinking about my safety,” she said. “I was just thinking about this really awesome video I was going to have later.”

She said after about 30 minutes,or so, the bull was spooked by something, began to buck and then shot off through the police vehicles back across Main Street.

Cedar City Police Sgt. Jimmy Roden said CCPD had called in assistance from ranchers and cattle hands that could help, but they did not respond before the situation escalated and the bull escaped once again.

This time, Roden said the bull headed toward Southern Utah University and South Elementary before finding its way into the yard of a resident in the area, where officers tried to corner the animal to no avail. After charging officers and breaking through several fences in neighboring yards, the bull continued north to Southern Utah University where yet another female was forcefully knocked to the ground.

Both women who were charged and knocked down by the bull were treated at Valley View Medical Center and released with only minor injuries, the press release said.

Roden said at that point, officers on the scene decided public safety was at risk and one officer proceeded to run the bull over with his Dodge Durango in an effort to stop the rampage. The attempt was unsuccessful, however, and Roden said the bull was only temporarily incapacitated, and officers were forced to shoot the bull multiple times until it was dead.

Roden said the bull was estimated to be between 1,000 and 1,300 pounds. He said he was unsure where the bull is now. An investigation was opened and is ongoing to find the owners of the animal and learn how the bull got into town in the first place, he said.

Roden said the bull’s death was unfortunate, but the bravery shown by CCPD and the other assisting officers from allied departments was exceptional.

“Our officers did an excellent job today in protecting the public,” Roden said. “They really were trying their best to protect the pedestrians and removed several pedestrians and kids who were going to school.”

“They really did a good job in balancing their protection of the public and their final choice to put that animal down,” he added.

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31 Comments

  • Koolaid October 13, 2014 at 8:36 pm

    If someone was able to speak cow talk, would they have been hearing the bull moo “Rape! Rape! Help me!” Admit it, you got some pretty strange dudes in that cowtown.

  • MmmBacon October 13, 2014 at 8:37 pm

    I’m just waiting for the pig to get loose! I’m waiting with a plate and napkin!

  • Old McDonald October 13, 2014 at 10:19 pm

    If that was a Deer, Elk or Bear they would have Tranquilized it! Cows get no respect! But, they taste good on YOUR plate don’t they!

  • ladybugavenger October 13, 2014 at 10:21 pm

    bull****

  • Lydia October 13, 2014 at 10:39 pm

    I loved this story….only I’m wondering “where’s the beef” after reading what Roden said. I’m sure it was quite a challenge to protect everyone. I wonder also why the police couldn’t use a tranquilizer gun instead of bullets?

  • . October 13, 2014 at 11:07 pm

    that would be a fun day as a cop in Cedar city, mess up a vehicle and shoot a bull, probably 25-40 times considering police officers now-a-days can not shoot to save their own lives haha.

  • cowboy bob October 13, 2014 at 11:15 pm

    Prolly wernt necesarry to shoot the poor feller. Silly pigs. Yall need to learn to use a rope.

  • Bobber October 13, 2014 at 11:51 pm

    This being Cedar city, I suspect someone may have done something inappropriate to the bull to trigger it into a rage…

    • JOSH DALTON (INCOGNEGRO) October 14, 2014 at 7:50 am

      this statement is true!

    • FYI October 14, 2014 at 12:08 pm

      Yes
      His name is Koolaid.

    • Koolaid October 15, 2014 at 2:23 pm

      Some Cedar guy hungry for those oysters?

  • PHJ October 14, 2014 at 3:08 am

    Vegan grief counselors are available and standing by for all who saw, read about or just feel down trodden because of how this poor gentle creature was viciously run over by a police cruiser, then shot in the back by police numerous times until he was dead. Those who saw it say he was running away after trying to surrender. Many are saying it’s because he was black, but I’m saying it was nothing but a big bull story.

    • JOSH DALTON (INCOGNEGRO) October 14, 2014 at 7:56 am

      I agree with the fact the bull was black so it was treated different than a yellow cow. They ran over the bull then shot it. We live in a state full of cattle rustlers, why did they not just rope the bull? maybe now they should donate the meat to the Dixie Care and Share, give back to the community! GO FALCONS!

  • My Evil Twin October 14, 2014 at 6:55 am

    Ya’ll are pokin’ a lot of fun at this poor ole bull. He dun gaved up his life to make this story. Why don’ you show no respec? 😉

  • bull fighting fan October 14, 2014 at 8:35 am

    WOW….this brings bull fighting to a whole new level. Bringing a gun to a bullfight…..imagine that.

  • ccmom October 14, 2014 at 8:47 am

    Why was the bull not tranquilized? Why was the ccpp not intelligent enough to call in backup with some animal expertise? I think there are enough cowboys in Cedar City who woils have had this handled a lot more quickly and without having to use the animal for target practice.

    • My Evil Twin October 14, 2014 at 2:36 pm

      Why were you not out there at the time, showing them what to do? Perhaps because it is much easier to whine about things after they happen?
      If you had bothered to read the article before running off at the mouth, you would see that they did call for help. However, it appears that danger to the public was such that the situation needed to be controlled prior to that help getting there.
      I really wish you could have been out there. Perhaps you could have “talked the bull down,” or maybe even hypnotized it so that it would follow along docilely to do whatever you wanted it to do.

  • Visiting Anthropologist October 14, 2014 at 9:05 am

    That poor bull fought the law and the law won…

    Many locals take pride in referring to this place (Dixie) as the Old West. Wouldn’t you think somebody in the Old West could rope the poor animal or at least handle this in a more civilized way with a tranquilizer gun? Not a great show of intelligence in this case. More like target practice on a dull day. Sad.

  • beerbelly October 14, 2014 at 10:22 am

    The CCPD is sponsoring a fundraiser for those individuals who were injured or had property damaged by this mischievous bull.
    Hamburgers in the Park!!! $2.00 extra gets you a steak (sarcasm).

  • sagemoon October 14, 2014 at 12:30 pm

    It’s too bad the ranchers and farm hands didn’t get there in time to be of service. It sounds like the situation was handled as best as it could have been , though, for the circumstances. People think big cities get all the excitement but rural America gets it’s fair share, too.

  • Common sense October 14, 2014 at 1:07 pm

    Any of you idiots who think u can just rope a fifteen hundred pound animal and make everything okay need your head examined. Come by my ranch and I will let you give it a try.

  • villager October 14, 2014 at 2:19 pm

    I could have shown “bravery” with a gun in my hand, too!
    You see here the proof that roping is not taught at boyscout camp. Sad for me, but fun for the CCPD.

  • Why not? October 14, 2014 at 2:39 pm

    Why not ride it for 8 seconds? Trip it and hurt it so it stops? Feed it apples? Tell it to go home? Tell to gouge another senior lady? Watch and laugh? Get all together and pick it up and put in back of pickup and take it to rodeo grounds for safekeeping? Heck, invite it in the house for crackers and tea? Or the best I read, officer take out your tranquilizer gun (ya it is somewhere on your belt) and put it to sleep (don’t forget pillow and blanket).

  • DB October 14, 2014 at 3:32 pm

    I presume that when the sheep are trotting down CC’s Main St on October 25th at the annual Livestock and Heritage Festival, animals over 1000 pounds will not be invited? This story is so sad I can’t stop laughing…

  • Duemas October 14, 2014 at 6:20 pm

    Some people commenting on this article are genuine idiots that lack “intelligence” of their own. CCPD we all know the police departments have a stock pile of tranquilizers ready to use so why not use them? Really? You people are stupid.

  • ladybugavenger October 14, 2014 at 9:18 pm

    #fundraiser

  • Goodgrief October 15, 2014 at 10:17 am

    What are you going to do with it once you rope it? It did get roped. Didn’t quite work out. I am just glad it did not get into the South Elementary school yard. Have no doubt he would have killed some children. (Then the outrage would have been “why didn’t they do something before it got into the school yard!) There was no other option left but to kill the bull. He had already charged and hurt three people; Including an officer who got tossed. (That was never mentioned.) Some DWR officers carry tranquilizers, but with it being this time of year, they were not immediately available.

  • This is BULL **** October 16, 2014 at 7:05 pm

    Why didn’t they call animal control instead? Aren’t the OWNERS supposed to decide whether to butcher the bull or not — not CCPD. Serious, 911 needs to get with it and transfer calls to the RIGHT agency (Animal Control)!

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