WEST OLIVE, MI (WHTC) – As police in a New England town place carbon monoxide meters into all of its police cruisers after several officers were sickened this week, a national recall is under consideration.
Ford Motor Company engineers are in the central Massachusetts community of Auburn as they try to determine why carbon monoxide has been found in ten Ford Explorer police vehicles and three other Explorers used by the town. Ford officials issued a statement: “Drivers of regular, non-police Ford Explorers have no reason to be concerned … the company has discovered holes and unsealed spaces in the back of some Police Interceptor Utilities that had police equipment installed after leaving Ford’s factory. Ford is announcing today it will cover the costs of specific repairs in every Police Interceptor Utility that may have this concern, regardless of age, mileage or aftermarket modifications made after purchase. Ford’s investigation into this issue is ongoing.”
These SUV’s are becoming more and more the vehicles of choice for those in blue or brown, according to Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Kempker. “That car is basically a mobile office for 12 hours for our deputies on a shift,” he said in a recent appearance on “WHTC Talk of the Town.” “We have made the decision, because the cost difference is not that much between the sedan and the SUV, that we are going to start moving to all SUVs (in the fleet).”
Kempker said that about two dozen Explorers in his department’s fleet will be rechecked in the wake of these problems, but his office has received no such complaints from his deputies thus far. Holland Public Safety have no Explorers in its vehicle fleet, using GMC Tahoes instead.
