{"id":1593,"date":"2013-07-15T04:28:56","date_gmt":"2013-07-15T04:28:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=1593"},"modified":"2015-01-08T18:06:06","modified_gmt":"2015-01-08T23:06:06","slug":"stunning-new-pictures-from-chicken-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/07\/15\/stunning-new-pictures-from-chicken-hill\/","title":{"rendered":"Stunning new pictures from Chicken Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"State <\/a>
State police officer pulls city patrolman Anthony Paga to safety. (Photo by Vic Polk) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Police <\/a>
Police drag suspect Joseph Gaito down a muddy hillside. (Al Herman Jr.\/Pittsburgh Press <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Suspect <\/a>
Suspect Joseph Gaito in an ambulance . (Al Hermann Jr.\/Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Traffic <\/a>
Traffic came to a standstill as a result of the shootout. (Photo by Vic Polk) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Police <\/a>
Police found the stolen loot. (Al Hermann Jr.\/Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"City <\/a>
City patrolman Anthony Paga is rushed to an ambulance. (Photo by Tom Kay) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

A few weeks ago we posted some news images documenting one of Pittsburgh\u2019s most famous crime dramas \u2014 the Battle of Chicken Hill<\/strong><\/a>. While refiling those pictures, we discovered a second envelope. And we were amazed by the photographs found inside.<\/p>\n

The shootout at Chicken Hill began as a bank robbery in Hays on July 23, 1959. A subsequent police chase through the South Hills ended when the two suspects darted from their vehicle and fled up a wooded hillside \u2014 known then as Chicken Hill \u2014 \u00a0just south of the Fort Pitt Tunnel. Police followed and were met with gunfire. That\u2019s when the shootout began.<\/p>\n

Soon, two police officers were wounded.<\/p>\n

City patrolman Anthony Paga was shot in the lower abdomen, according to news reports. One of the most stunning pictures we discovered \u00a0shows a state police officer dragging Paga to safety. News articles indicate the unidentified trooper exposed himself to gunfire by making the rescue.<\/p>\n

The picture of was taken by Vic Polk, an good-natured Carnegie lensman who photographed thousands of weddings and family portraits before his death in 2005. In the late \u201850s, Polk often took pictures for newspapers and police departments, so it was natural for him to be on the scene.<\/p>\n

A second picture of Paga was snapped as fellow officers rushed their fallen comrade downhill on a stretcher. Paga is in obvious distress. In fact, a priest at the scene administered last rites, but Paga survived his wounds.<\/p>\n

Suspect Joseph Gaito, who we now know as the \u201cChicken Hill bandit,\u201d shows up in several pictures. In one, he\u2019s being dragged in handcuffs down a muddy hillside. Another depicts Gaito lying on his back in what\u2019s identified in the caption as a \u201cpolice ambulance.\u201d Both of these images were shot by Al Hermann Jr. of The Pittsburgh Press.<\/p>\n

Other pictures show the resulting traffic jam on the Parkway West and\u00a0 nearby roads, and the stash of stolen loot recovered by police.<\/p>\n

The pictures are a testament to the dedication of the city\u2019s news photographers who, at the time, struggled with cumbersome equipment. Their work, produced under harsh and dangerous conditions, is riveting and thorough. And it makes real a legendary story we\u2019ve often heard, but never truly understood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While refiling those pictures, we discovered a second envelope. And we were amazed by the photographs found inside.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesStunning new pictures from Chicken Hill<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[947],"tags":[975,961,1189,1169,1048,1049],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/tumblr_mptz4mLurf1rr5swxo3_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C866&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1662,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/06\/24\/the-battle-of-chicken-hill\/","url_meta":{"origin":1593,"position":0},"title":"The Battle of Chicken Hill","date":"June 24, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"This happened in Hays on a hot, muggy day in 1959, when Pittsburgh was in its industrial prime.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/tumblr_morlgyiv3h1rr5swxo4_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C752&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":761,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/04\/16\/officer-baby-face-palmer-and-the-hill-district\/","url_meta":{"origin":1593,"position":1},"title":"Officer ‘Baby Face’ Palmer and the Hill District","date":"April 16, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"In the course of doing his job, he was shot, stabbed, stoned and beaten.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/tumblr_n430v7IhPt1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C880&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":202,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/10\/03\/hazelwood-residents-battle-for-glenwood-bridge\/","url_meta":{"origin":1593,"position":2},"title":"Hazelwood residents\u2019 battle for Glenwood Bridge","date":"October 3, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Construction of a new Glenwood Bridge had begun in 1960 but was moving at a glacial pace.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/tumblr_nctxgfQcPC1rr5swxo2_1280.jpg?fit=1179%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2553,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/09\/06\/the-case-of-rodney-woodson-in-photographs\/","url_meta":{"origin":1593,"position":3},"title":"The case of Rodney Woodson in photographs","date":"September 6, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"A goal of the photographer was not to defend Rodney Woodson, but rather to humanize him.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/tumblr_m9w4e4Ruph1rr5swxo1_1280-e1418793807844.jpg?fit=1200%2C656&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1130,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/12\/16\/czar-of-pittsburgh-police\/","url_meta":{"origin":1593,"position":4},"title":"Czar of Pittsburgh Police","date":"December 16, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Nate Harper? 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