Cow escapes cattle truck in Paterson and bolts toward freedom

A state trooper went for a wild ride early Thursday morning while trying to help Paterson police wrangle a cow that escaped from a cattle truck en route to a slaughterhouse.

The unknown state trooper tried to hold the cow, but it didn't exactly go as planned, said Paterson Police Director Jerry Speziale.

"He tried to get around it and hold it, and then he's riding it like a bull down Route 80," Speziale said.

The cow was caught running across Route 80, and almost all the on-duty Paterson officers responded to a call around 2:41 a.m. about an injured cow headed toward the city, Speziale said.  He said the cow kicked open the door of the trailer she was in and jumped onto the highway from the upper level.

The attempt to get the cow back over the guardrail was caught on tape, and Paterson police officers could be seen trying to coax the cow. Police ended up using a tow strap after Officer Brian Culmone's failed attempt to rope the cow and hold on to her.

The story continues below the video.

Speziale said he could understand why so many officers were dispatched to the scene in an effort to protect the public.

"That cow's at least 1,000 pounds," he said. "We could have had a major accident."

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The police director said he is grateful that no one was hurt or killed and that the cow was removed from the roadway.

The cow was hitched to the back of the tow truck to get her moving before Skylands Animal Sanctuary and Rescue in Wantage took her to a veterinarian, according to the sanctuary's Facebook page.