Police Kill Pregnant Cow Charging Through Hawaii Traffic

Honolulu police shot and killed a pregnant  cow that wandered into traffic last week. 

The cow escaped from a ranch  on Thursday and found its way to Farrington Highway on the west side of Oahu island. 

Witnesses said the cow darted through traffic and looked frightened . 

Bud Gibson, the ranch owner, said several ranch hands were waiting for the animal to calm down before taking her home. But the situation escalated when a passersby became involved , spooking the cow. 

Video obtained by KITV4  shows the cow charging a man on the highway shoulder, then running toward a car and clipping its sideview mirror. 

"If he thought he was going to help,"  Gibson told KITV 4, "it wasn’t the right thing to do." 

WARNING: Explicit language.

Police officers fired three shots , the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports, killing the cow in front of stalled traffic. 

Officials told KHON2  that officers killed the cow for public safety. Witnesses filmed the cow's slow demise .

While there has been some outrage  over the use of violence, Gibson said he believes cops were right to kill his cow.

"We didn't want to take a chance of someone getting hurt," Gibson told KHON2 .

Gibson said the cow's meat has been donated to local families.