When a tree fell onto the road in Ann Arbor, Mich. during a recent ice storm, a police officer trying to clear the path got help from an unlikely stranger: Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh.
According to the Ann Arbor police department, officer Howard Cooper was trying to remove a large tree from the road on Wednesday night. The department was spread thin, so he had no other choice than to tackle the task by himself. While Cooper was still trying to figure out how to get the job done, a man wearing jeans, a plaid sweater and a beanie parked his vehicle and approached him to volunteer.
In an interview with The Detroit News, Cooper said at first he was trying to wave off the van and told the driver to turn around because there was a tree blocking the road. The driver, who turned out to be Harbaugh, insisted he could help.
"I was like, 'No way.' And the first thing out of his mouth was, 'Hey, let's try to move this,'" Cooper said. "It was just kind of cool that he just hopped out. I would have never thought Jim Harbaugh, of all people, would hop out to help out."
The Ann Arbor police department shared footage of the two men working together to clear a lane.
On 2/22/23 at approximately 8pm in the middle of the ice storm Ofc Howard Cooper was at Devonshire and Londonderry to remove a large tree that was blocking the road when a van pulled up. The driver then parked and got out of the vehicle. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/FxG3s9t0P7
— Ann Arbor Police (@A2Police) February 23, 2023
Winter conditions across the nation are causing havoc and, as reported by CBS Detroit, and many people in Michigan have had to deal with blocked roads and power outages because of fallen trees due to Wednesday's ice storm.
