Cop goes cowboy: Video shows Columbus officer lassoing highway cow

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A Columbus cop became a cowboy Tuesday night after lassoing a loose highway cow back to safety.

Bodycam footage released by Columbus Division of Police on Friday shows the moments after a 32-cattle trailer overturned on the ramp from Interstate 70 East to I-270 North on the West Side around 8:15 p.m. Tuesday, giving one cow the perfect opportunity to escape.

One police officer diligently fashioned a 100-foot rope into the lasso he eventually used to return the cattle to its owner, the 14-minute long bodycam video shows.

"Hang on buddy, hang on!" the officer said as he sat on top of a cruiser while following the cow along the left shoulder of the highway.

Two initial attempts to lasso the cow failed, and about halfway through the video, the cattle tried to divert its chasers by galloping in the opposite direction.

Officers followed suit, turning their cruiser around and eventually catching up to the loose cow -- who found a long stretch of grass on the side of the highway, racing alongside dozens of cars stopped in traffic, the video shows.

The third lasso throw did the trick -- after the cow briefly collided into the police cruiser -- and officers successfully restrained the cattle with the rope.