The Tension Between Freedom House and the Police

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John Moon says there was tension with patients who might have expected police officers to show up and take them to the hospital. There was also tension between Freedom House and the police themselves, he says. Police dispatchers had control of every call that came in; determined when or if they wanted to utilize Freedom House's EMS system. John Moon: "Instead of becoming an asset, there were a liability"

As recently as 1965, if you had a medical emergency, the people who showed up at your door would be volunteer firefighters, police officers, or undertakers with a hearse. Today, the story of how a group of Black men from Pittsburgh changed that.

Kevin Hazzard’s book is American Sirens: The Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became America's First Paramedics.

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