In the 1960s, if you were having a medical emergency, a police van would respond, not the paramedics. There were no other standardized, government-run emergency services in America at the time. In Pittsburgh, the police and firemen who answered these calls lacked proper medical training and "had little, no, or outdated equipment," according to the University of Pittsburgh.
All of Pittsburgh's residents suffered. Not even the mayor was spared. NPR's Erika Beras shares that story:
