Brazos County commissioners have approved spending $277,000 dollars of ten new law enforcement vehicles.
All will be Ford Explorers…a model that was taken off the streets earlier this year in Austin and Galveston.
Sheriff Chris Kirk says the reason carbon monoxide gas got inside those vehicles was due to the installation of aftermarket parts.
Kirk says the sheriff’s office, the county’s purchasing agent, and the county’s fleet maintenance department researched what happened.
The sheriff says they will follow the manufacturer’s recommendations and not make the same mistakes other agencies made when adding aftermarket accessories.
Eight Explorers were purchased for the sheriff’s office, and one apiece for constables in precincts one and two.
Click below for comments from Chris Kirk, visiting with WTAW’s Bill Oliver.
From Austin, The Associated Press reports Austin police are putting Ford Explorer vehicles back in service:
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Austin police are putting dozens of their Ford Explorer SUVs back in service after more than 400 were pulled from patrol over concerns of carbon monoxide fumes in the cabins.
The city says more than 40 have been put back on patrol after Ford Motor Co. made repairs to exhaust tips, lift gates and other issues. The city says it will take months to get the entire fleet back in service.
Austin officials say Ford is paying for the repairs, which are being done at local dealerships.
Ford has offered to inspect and repair Explorer SUVs at no cost to owners.
Ford has maintained the vehicles are safe, but would make repairs available in response to customer concerns about exhaust odors and carbon monoxide.