A Michigan police officer decided to lend a helping hand after he saw an elderly woman struggling to mow her lawn.
Officer Jonathan Cox with the Wyandotte Police Department was patrolling the area when he noticed Dory Oliver pushing a lawn mower with one hand and holding her walker in the other.
He immediately ran to her rescue and told her to head back inside her home and promised he would be back after his shift.
And sure enough, after working 12 hours straight, Cox showed up at her home – just outside of Detroit – and tackled Oliver’s yard all on his own.
‘She just looked like she needed help that day, and when I stopped to ask her, she allowed me to help her,’ Cox told WXYZ.
Oliver said it’s hard for her to get yard work done because of her mobility issues, and even though she’s called a few companies for help, they never showed.
‘When you’ve worked all your life… and then, suddenly, you can’t, it’s not a good feeling,’ Oliver told the outlet.
‘Three different times somebody said, “Yeah, I’ll be there to help you,” and nobody ever came.’
After assessing her yard, Cox quickly realized it needed more than just a lawn mower.
‘It was overgrown. Unfortunately, there was a storm that took a bunch of branches down, and it needed to be cleaned up,’ the officer said.
He spent two days cleaning up her lawn, which included trimming grass, cleaning her gutters and making sure the yard looked better than he found it.
Oliver was so grateful Officer Cox decided to help her out and take a huge weight off her shoulders. Police did not confirm when the Good Samaritan helped out Oliver.
‘What a blessing it was – not only professionally, he would be there for me if I needed him but just out of the kindness of his own heart and the willingness to help someone,’ she stated.
Oliver was so thankful for Cox’s hard work that she took it upon herself to leave a heartfelt message about him to the department’s chief.
In her voicemail, she said: ‘I’m just still in awe of what he did for me. He doesn’t even know me.
‘He just took care of what was impossible for me because I can’t walk without the walker. I just have to commend him, and I thank him so much.’
She also dropped off donuts to the police station to thank Cox, who’s been with the department for eight years.
‘I’m very blessed in the position where I’m at, whether it’s personally and/or professionally, to help others,’ he said.
His department also shared how proud they were of him, as they took to Facebook to share a touching photo of Cox with Oliver.
The post explained that Cox was patrolling the area with his police dog Jax that day when he knew he had to take action.
‘After his 12-hour shift ended, Officer Cox (Note: Jax went home and fell asleep) went back to the home and began grooming the yard,’ the department said.
‘To say we’re proud of Officer Cox (and Jax), is an understatement!!’
Daily Mail contacted the Wyandotte Police Department for comment.
