Parma Heights officers were led on a wild chase... by an escaped inflatable pumpkin.

Call it the great pumpkin pursuit.

Police in Parma Heights, Ohio, in the early witching hours of Wednesday, Oct. 8, found themselves pursuing a giant inflated pumpkin that had begun "rolling through town!" the department said in a Facebook post.

Body camera footage released by the Parma Heights Police Department shows an officer and a good Samaritan bystander detaining the giant inflated gourd after their "struggle with the pumpkin," the apprehending officer is heard saying.

"Where did that come from?" asks the arriving officer whose bodycam footage is used.

"Dude, I was kind of like following it, and it kept blowing away, and when I went to grab it over here, it just took off," the other officer said.

How did the officers catch the pumpkin?

In the video, which was also posted on the department's Facebook page, the officers are shown wrestling with the pumpkin in an attempt to deflate it. "We're currently struggling with it right now. It's not cooperating that much," one of the officers says into his radio.

Eventually, the officers are seen getting the pumpkin into a police vehicle. "Wow. I never seen that before," says one of the officers. Both are smiling as they thank the bystander for his assistance.

"The pumpkin was quickly detained and returned to its owner without incident," the department said in a separate Facebook post. "Just another example of our officers going above and beyond, even for seasonal décor!"

Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Giant inflated pumpkin causes nightmare on the street, leads police on pursuit

Reporting by Mike Snider, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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