Police Emergency (ca. 1950s)

[Music] hey hey uh are you st are you cut are you cut are you cut no you don't want to go to hospital I got you my hey he's got another one hey this guy's going out you better get that and I looked up and sending a message and he said I want a $69 American Express order I get out the big Express order he puts he said I'll take he said I'll take your money like that and forgive me for taking that's all right you want to sit down you better sit down forget about the story that's all right and um so then he said well I'll take your other um paper or something your Le other legal paper you know [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] these are people in trouble they are the special concern of the police emergency service [Music] [Applause] [Music] for 3 months we have followed two cups in patrol car 1509 through the streets of New York our microphones and cameras have recorded their actions you will see New York in a jagged series of events of violence and crisis this report is not for the squeamish [Music] [Applause] [Music] New York City Time Square car 1509 Police emergency service moving against traffic in a race against [Music] death patrolman Mike Chadwick his partner Jean Cochran in the entrance to a Broadway Dance Hall a 60-year-old man suffers a heart attack two patrolman at the emergency service work over him trying to find and revive a spark of [Music] life these men are cops but they are something more [Music] too [Music] late this time the man is dead the cops call them losers [Music] New York is for winners the unskilled the untalented the UN beautiful The Unlucky find trouble here when the trouble is bad enough Chadwick and Cochran have work to do Mike Chadwick is 40 years old he is married and has three children he has been a police officer 14 years gas Jean Cochran age 36 three children a police officer 9 years Cochran has five police medals Chadwick has seven I started in the building line as a laborer was good work I liked it plenty of exercise good work like take the test for the police department well I I I was going to take the test before I went in the Marines but uh uh I went in in February of 42 and the test didn't come up until April so I missed it if I would have taken a test I would have had uh well did you always had that feeling that you wanted to be a policeman well I either a A placeman or a fireman yeah your father was a fireman yeah my father and two of his brothers were firemen I was the first cop in a family I'm the black sheep myself I still have uncle in the fire department we have no city employees uh I'm the only city employee became a policeman my pop and two of his brothers were both firing one one of them was killed Up In Harlem in a fire oh yeah and the other one is still on he works up in Bronx Telegraph Uncle Buster he used to be a a fighter before he went on a fight 42 Street at Broadway 1020 on the street man struck by Auto emergency car 1509 will also respond Kate okay J let's go wh it around [Music] 42nd Street in Broadway the busiest Corner in the world a man has been hit by a car a fender ornament has pierced his cheek he is one of the 17,500 pedestrians run down each year in New York get a [Music] blanket what's your name Martin what's your first name Martin domic Dominic Tomy oh Tommy where do your Li tommmy don't touch your face Tomy [Music] got me with a you're okay uh Tommy Martin right where do you live Tom when a person in trouble finds himself in Mike Chadwick's hands status money privilege are not conc right he treats them all alike Cochran has called for the ambulance it's on its way all right pull it out go no no just stay right here yeah all right don't don't rub it too much okay just keep your hands away from okay I want B okay [Music] every action is recorded in detail this time Cochran gets the book work Jean Cochran got into emergency through an act of Bravery saving a man and woman whose boat cap sized off Coney Island in Winter he was dropped from a helicopter and kept them afloat until eight arrived an hour later he spent the next 3 months in the hospital funny I had no idea what I was going to do when I was I was in there you know when you go to when you get processed yeah it just came to me I wanted to be a biker I put banking on my still on my discharge you can look out of my discharge I went home and I I got a I got a job as a tet trainee I went to work the I got home on a Thursday and I went to work Friday morning and a was the corn exchange it was corn exchange then as a telet trinee and I work my way up to I was well not not in that place in in that bank two different banks I work my way up to head tell from there uh I took the test for the police department I had as long as I remembered I wanted to be a policeman 43rd Street 6 Aven 10 steam a steam leak can be a minor job or a catastrophe [Music] [Music] [Music] 6th Avenue and 43rd live steam Taz through pipes beneath the streets of New York at at 300 mph pressure 1,000 lb per square in there are more than 50 people trapped in the stars behind the wall of steam all right Char bring it over here [Music] black out it the way get it back go down [Applause] right [Music] [Applause] in chadrick has heard calls for help a dozen people are trapped in the cell you will try to reach them and lead them up to CAU we out out of the B I came in for a shine and I got a Turkish bag helping out yes what is your name what's your name Rose Schwarz Rose Schwarz yeah and where do you live Rose I can't to so I'm sorry take it easy this thank God we're out how long were you in there at least a half hour 710 p.m. all secure experience veryy the police emergency handles 25,600 calls a year the 26 patrol cars handle 90% of this business but Chadwick and fan the evening has just [Music] begun this Tour of Duty Begins for Mike Chadwick in the mid-afternoon from his house 1 hour away in the Bronx he reports to Midtown headquarters for the 400 p.m. to midnight shift Cochran lives an hour away at the far end of Brooklyn the men of the emergency Squad are an elite group skilled men who have shown bravery and fortitude the waiting list of applicants is long the selections are made by the boss Chief Inspector Walder clsb 37 years in the division a world Authority in dealing with catastrophe Chadwick is a typical selection he is a skilled Carpenter mechanic and practical engineer he is expert in all police work weapons rigging Hydraulics and making coffee men of the emergency division Fly New York's five police helicopters the 12 launches of the Harbor Patrol are piloted by these men who cover 578 Mi of shorefront of the great City for the next 8 hours car 1509 will speed Chadwick and Cochran to the centers of action in the ready room Jean prepares his report forms for the day's work uh 1509 K 59 Street on 6th Avenue 108 dangerous condition normally the patrol car reports to its assigned Precinct first but action takes precedence [Music] Central Park South a 200t construction crane has buckled at the top 23 stories above the street the cause wind of gale force with gusts up to 70 mph the problem how to get the crane down without damage two weeks before two pedestrians were killed by a boom that broke free Chadwick and Cochran wear no hats if a hat blows off there may be a dangerous impulse to grab after it the plan of action traffic is stopped below Chadwick and Cochran direct the construction workers to lash the broken part of the boom then they give the orders lower away okay let him go [Music] a [Music] 5:30 p.m. car 1509 reports to its assigned precinct for the next 6 and 1/2 hours it will be on patrol responding to Radio Calls looking for trouble patrolman Chadwick and Corran emergency car 1509 Corran Chadwick meil 8 and six ring at 30 right sir on a typical day the gamut of experience is wide some of it mechanical much of it is routine and sometimes it's just plain ridiculous 536 New York is full of nuts one of these left in a parked car a lion 551 broken water lion in a condemned [Music] building 710 automobile accident a car mounted the sidewalk knocking over traffic light they cut off electricity seal the cable ends and order the street hose down to wash away gasoline Spa can be dangerous 910 they arrest a man in a stolen [Music] car 10:05 investigate reported Prowler on [Music] roof 11:15 move derel from dangerous Construction [Music] site an average tour of Duty Chadwick and cauan like the for to midnights it is the most active shift their wives have some reservations she doesn't particularly care for God hates them boy she don't like them at all I think they're the best to of work but the only thing is uh never see the kids yeah I like it as a working tour I like as a working tour it's terrific but uh you figure you get home 1:00 1:30 in the morning yeah you sleep until 9:00 the kids are gone to school you leave at 2:30 or so the kids don't go home SCH until 3 in the afternoon and you're already going for 5 days you don't see them when I'm doing a set of 4 to 12 sometimes I don't see mik 7351 while he's in school for the whole set same with me Freddy I see and Tommy's going to school now and you 41 East 46 Street signal 1030 arm robbery in progress emergency car 1509 will also respond K okay K let's go [Music] armed robbery is an allout call every car in range responds at top [Music] speed have a hat no hat then he had black hair black hair dark hair Italian type I oh no please I got nothing against Italian but he was goodl looking and Italian type like a fresh guy you know yeah not real heavy but heavy I mean I was looking like quite a nice looking guy oh yeah everything everything but I don't remember what color he have a g he said he did he went like like like said he had it he didn't show me I don't mean to grab you but like this underneath his like in his pocket you know what and let's see what can I tell you oh so all he took was what money I had in his Save which wasn't much cuz I was getting it ready for deposit I deposit all the time and uh the book for American Express checks he said grab the other ones and I and I fumbled around and he ran as I was fumbling 25 younger than I am that's about 16 right thank you for making me laugh over there and to think I have of diamonds that I don't don't have [Applause] on my my boy just minut left the delivery boy we were sitting and saying how dull it was and then I got an arq which is mean I had a had to do a message over and I was glad to get it which way did he go he like he went like there was a car there like he went up toward the street or to the hotel and I don't know more than that because no no wait now what I did was he said now I want the other rest like that and so I funed around in here wait I'll show you [Music] [Applause] [Music] get [Music] on let [Music] [Applause] him what happened please is it one man or two men yeah well the one man came in here I noticed I was sending for you George maoy the New York member anyway the man came in he had a rain coat and he and he was a very goodlooking man white man oh yeah very was the post anyway so a very good-looking fellow and I looked up and I was sending a message and he said I want a $69 American Express order I get out the big Express order he puts he said I'll take he said I'll take your money like that and forgive me for shaking that's up you want to sit down you better sit down forget about this St that's and um so then he said well I'll take your other um paper or something your Le other legal paper you know well I know what that that's this business but I was like nervous you know and I fumbled around for it and so he only took the B he had it like in his pocket and so he kept his hand in his pocket yeah like he his rain coat up you know like this I see in other words as if he had a gun like this so what is all that's all right don't worry about it what is your name man Francis Kaiser Ruth what man no that's my sister Francis Kaiser Francis Kaiser how do you spell k Iz e r e k i z e r e [Music]