Medical Professional Describes Dealing with Police at Hospital

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A white male with a gun and night stick threatened the speaker, but they were more concerned about the patient. The police were sometimes a liability, so the speaker improvised a solution by buying a scanner to monitor police calls from their base at Presver Theater and Hospital.

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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Artwork by Julienne Alexander.

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