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The dangerous life of a reporter...
Nov. 13th, 2007 10:37 pmI was sitting in my office, doing some work when a call came in over our police radio. We have police scanners in the office so we can immediately be alerted to any fire, disturbance, accident, etc. (not me because I don't usually do crime or news.)
Anyway, we heard that there was a bull loose from the auction mart. It had run down the back alleys and into the city. We heard that the police were trying to get it down near the hospital. So one reporter said he was on the case. He didn't know where the auction mart was, and I wasn't doing anything special, so I said I'd go with him, offering my skills as the agricultural reporter.
We hopped into the car and ripped down the street, the scanner squawking as the police barked directions to each other. We finally got near the hospital and could see the bull heading down the street.
We jumped out of the car, but were immediately blocked by a cop who told us the bull was angry and mean and was charging people and cars. We were unable to see, but were later informed that the cops tried to tase the animal. Meanwhile, an old guy was whipping right by the bull on his motorized wheelchair, completely oblivious until the cops yelled at him to go away. He was about 8 feet away from the angry animal, completely unaware. (This was the funniest part of the excursion)
As we were losing the trail of animal and police, who were now using sirens and closing in from all directions, we hopped back in the car and moved several blocks until we were near city hall. There, we hopped out of the car again and chased for several blocks before losing both cops and bull. People were coming out of their homes and businesses because of all the police cars and sirens and I kept on yelling at them to tell them what was happening so they wouldn't be charged accidentally.
All in all, the animal travelled quickly and made good time running through the city.
We then found out the animal had moved substantially and was in the railyard. The cops called the auction mart for tranquilizers, but the auction mart didn't have any. So, the cops surrounded Mr. Angry Bull, and shot him up near the train tracks.
We were just a tad too late, and missed this whole encounter. We arrived just in time to shoot pictures of the dead bull lying on the railroad tracks, and talk to a cop.
All in all, not your average day at work.
I had a couple of thoughts while we were chasing the animal-
1. This wasn't what I ever pictured when I used to imagine being a wildlife biologist or animal tracker as a child
2. Is this as close as I'm ever going to get to the running of the bulls in Spain?
Anyway, we heard that there was a bull loose from the auction mart. It had run down the back alleys and into the city. We heard that the police were trying to get it down near the hospital. So one reporter said he was on the case. He didn't know where the auction mart was, and I wasn't doing anything special, so I said I'd go with him, offering my skills as the agricultural reporter.
We hopped into the car and ripped down the street, the scanner squawking as the police barked directions to each other. We finally got near the hospital and could see the bull heading down the street.
We jumped out of the car, but were immediately blocked by a cop who told us the bull was angry and mean and was charging people and cars. We were unable to see, but were later informed that the cops tried to tase the animal. Meanwhile, an old guy was whipping right by the bull on his motorized wheelchair, completely oblivious until the cops yelled at him to go away. He was about 8 feet away from the angry animal, completely unaware. (This was the funniest part of the excursion)
As we were losing the trail of animal and police, who were now using sirens and closing in from all directions, we hopped back in the car and moved several blocks until we were near city hall. There, we hopped out of the car again and chased for several blocks before losing both cops and bull. People were coming out of their homes and businesses because of all the police cars and sirens and I kept on yelling at them to tell them what was happening so they wouldn't be charged accidentally.
All in all, the animal travelled quickly and made good time running through the city.
We then found out the animal had moved substantially and was in the railyard. The cops called the auction mart for tranquilizers, but the auction mart didn't have any. So, the cops surrounded Mr. Angry Bull, and shot him up near the train tracks.
We were just a tad too late, and missed this whole encounter. We arrived just in time to shoot pictures of the dead bull lying on the railroad tracks, and talk to a cop.
All in all, not your average day at work.
I had a couple of thoughts while we were chasing the animal-
1. This wasn't what I ever pictured when I used to imagine being a wildlife biologist or animal tracker as a child
2. Is this as close as I'm ever going to get to the running of the bulls in Spain?
