There’s no shortage of old Ford Crown Victorias rolling around with a suspicious lean, but one Nebraska driver learned the hard way just how much B.S. the Norfolk Police Division will tolerate when it comes to proper loading of a vehicle. According to News Channel Nebraska, Lee Meyer of Neligh, Neb., was pulled over Wednesday morning for cruising down U.S. 275 with an adult bull in the passenger seat … and on the hood, and perhaps part of the roof. Hey, those seats were built for Americans with two legs, not four. Cut him some slack.
“The officers received a call referencing a car driving into town that had a cow in it,” Norfolk Police Division Captain Chad Reiman told the outlet. “They thought that it was going to be a calf, something small or something that would actually fit inside the vehicle.”
Instead, what they found was an adult bovine — a Watusi bull, to be precise. According to local comments on the story, the bull’s name is Howdy Doody and he’s a fixture of local events, and seeing him ride shotgun with Meyer is not unusual.
According to Oklahoma State University, a fully grown Watusi bull can weigh 1,000 to 1,600 pounds. By itself, that’s not necessarily concerning. A mid-’90s Ford Crown Victoria should have a gross vehicle weight rating somewhere north of 5,000 pounds.
Remember, these things were engineered to hold at least two police officers and all of their field equipment; they’re quite sturdy. With a light enough driver, it’s possible that the vehicle was still under its safe hauling limit, but that’s not a bet we’d take just eyeballing it. Regardless of his weigh-in results, Meyer was issued a warning before being told to pack up and leave town.
