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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Police in Ohio's largest city shot and killed a coyote after it bit an officer who had stopped to help a stranded motorist, the police department said.
The coyote appeared out of nowhere Thursday night and first tried to attack a state road worker also helping the motorist on an Interstate 70 exit ramp on the east side of Columbus, police said. When the officer tried to intervene, he was bitten, said Sgt. James Fuqua, a spokesman for Columbus police.
The coyote ran away after the officer punched it, and then returned after other officers arrived. The original officer tried unsuccessfully to use pepper spray on the animal, and responding officers also tried unsuccessfully to use a stun gun on the coyote before shooting it, Fuqau said.
The officer was treated at the hospital and is expected to be fine. Police say the coyote is being tested for rabies and any other diseases.
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