In 1968 C. Mark Vasu, MD, a Grand Rapids cardiologist had been teaching CPR for the Michigan Heart Association for the past several years. He felt that that emergency medical response could be improved for the city and surrounding area of approximately 450,000 people. He  then proposed an emergency care training course for City of Grand Rapids police officers that would be roughly equivalent to the BLS emergency medical technician (EMT) program.

Dr. Vasu next organized volunteer physicians to staff the police department's station wagon ambulance on 12 hours shifts for the following wo weeks. This unit would solely function as non-transport first response vehicles with local private services providing basic life support transport. T he physicians soon equipped their personal cars with police radios, medical equipment and supplies and became available for free-of-charge medical duty at the scene of emergencies. These physician units became known  as "Crash Squads" and evenually involved over 35 physicians in the program.

By the end of the first year, the Grand Rapids Police Department's BLS unit had become so successful that a second unit was deemed necessary, but government funding was not available.  Dr. Vasu and his colleagues helped to raise needed funds for a second unit.

In 1971, the decision was made to elevate the Grand Rapids "medi-cops" to the paramedic level. Grand Rapids police paramedics completed paramedic training while maintaining their regular patrol duties, attending classes once or twice a week in the afternoon and evening. Hospital clinical rotations were arranged for a program that was a minimum of 350 hours of training. The program was able to document a 35% decrease in auto accident fatalities between 1971 and 1974. This was prior to the Federal DOT reducing the speed limit on U.S highways and interstates to 55 MPH..