A bald eagle that was rescued by cops in the USA after it was hit by a car has been put to sleep after suffering a broken leg.

The injured bird of prey was euthanised just two days after it was rescued from Interstate-84 eastbound on the Vernon-Tolland town line, Connecticut State, USA, at 7.30pm on Saturday, 8th April.

Officers from the Connecticut State Police rushed to the rescue of the eagle as it found itself on the tarmac on the highway after reportedly being struck by a car.

A video of the rescue obtained from the police shows deputies slowing down traffic immediately upon arrival on site, to help get the bird to safety.

An officer – identified only as a trooper – can be seen approaching the bird and instructing it to move to the safer right shoulder, as the puzzled animal watches him.

But by the end of the 55-second-long video, the cops bring in a box and put the bird inside before they took it to a vet the next day.

Connecticut State Police said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “Dispatcher Gambacorta and Troopers worked wing in wing to take the bald eagle into custody, transport it, and release it into the custody of Horizon Wings Raptor Rehabilitation in Ashford.”

But after performing a physical examination and taking radiographs on the animal, vets at the rehabilitation centre found out it had suffered a leg fracture.

In had additionally suffered head and eye trauma, the centre said.

The bird was then transported to the Tufts Wildlife Clinic at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University at Medford, Massachusetts’s State, USA, for further evaluation.

Clinic director Dr Maureen Murray said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “Sadly, because of the proximity to the joint, the prognosis for repair of the fracture and restoration of normal, pain-free mobility was very poor.

“While the Clinic’s primary goal is always to treat and release its patients back into the wild, due to the severity of the injury, the difficult but humane decision to euthanise the bird was made.”