Local county and city police departments should consider installing carbon monoxide detectors in police cruisers.
The city of Austin Texas did. What they found was astounding. They found that an overwhelming number of the Fords in use set off alarms. So much so, that they decided to bench some 270+ of them.
Several officers reportedly tested high for levels of carbon monoxide in their blood.
I'm sure they make fancy ones, but I'd think a common household detector would suffice.
County and city leaders, please consider taking adequate precautions to protect our men and women that protect us.
James Berry
District 1 resident
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Earlier this month the Chattanooga Police Department received information concerning Ford Explorer SUVs experiencing an issue with unsafe levels of carbon monoxide in the cabin. CPD's Fleet Manager researched the issue and the administration is being proactive in determining if any of the vehicles in CPD's fleet are affected.
The issue seems to be in 2011 to 2015 SUVs with the rear air conditioning unit installed. None of CPD's existing SUVs assigned to Neighborhood Policing have the rear air unit installed. The overwhelming majority of CPD's SUV models are 2016 and newer.
CPD is spot checking vehicles even though it currently does not seem to be an issue and no officers have complained of any health issues consistent with what officers in other cities experienced.
CPD is installing kits on a random sampling of SUVs in the fleet and will monitor the kits over 90 days for readings.
Elisa M. Myzal
Communications Coordinator
Office of the Chief of Police