This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A rampaging bull on the loose in Cedar City knocked two women to the ground, broke down several fences and charged police before an officer struck the animal with an SUV on Monday morning and another officer shot it dead.
Being hit by the vehicle only temporarily slowed the bull, and deadly force was ultimately used to stop it, according to a news release from the Cedar City Police Department.
Both women who were struck by the bull were treated for minor injuries and released from a local hospital.
Police were still trying to determine Monday afternoon who owned the bull and where it escaped from.
News of the loose bovine initially reported to be a cow came at about 7 a.m. Monday from the area of 400 South and 700 West in Cedar City.
Arriving officers found that the animal was a black bull weighing 1,000 to 1,400 ponds and worked to contain it. But within minutes, it began to run down the street.
Police attempted to clear pedestrians from the animal's path, but it charged and struck a woman, knocking her to the ground before continuing into a business district. Officers temporarily contained the bull there, while requesting help from local cattlemen.
But before help arrived the bull fled the area and headed toward Southern Utah University and South Elementary. Again, officers temporarily cornered the bull in the backyard of a home, but it charged at officers and broke through several fences in neighboring yards.
When the bull fled onto 200 South near SUU, it charged another woman and knocked her to the ground.
It was at that point, in an attempt to prevent further injuries to the public, that an officer drove his Dodge Durango over a curb, into a parking lot and struck the bull.
"The officer had to take some kind of action," said Sgt. Jimmy Roden. "It was close to SUU, with students walking all around."
The bull was knocked down by the SUV, but it got up and continued moving.
Another officer determined he could "safely put it down" and fired multiple shots at the bull, Roden said.
Asked if the animal was branded, Roden said there was information on the animal that was being investigated.