By Richard Burgess, The Advertiser (Lafayette, Louisiana)
LAFAYETTE, Louisiana - City-parish government is considering signing on to a class-action lawsuit over allegedly dangerous police cruisers.
A lawsuit filed on behalf of state troopers over Ford Motor Co.'s Crown Victoria Interceptor - a popular law enforcement car - was certified as a class-action case last week, opening it up to agencies throughout the state.
“We have quite a few (Interceptors),” said Lafayette City-Parish Risk and Insurance Supervisor Ryan Domengeaux. “We have purchased approximately 200 since 1992, and about 140 of these are still in use.”
Law enforcement agencies in at least nine states have filed lawsuits against Ford, alleging that a design flaw in the Interceptor leads to increased risk of an explosion in rear-end collisions.
The Louisiana lawsuit focused on a 1998 accident in which a trooper died in an explosion after a rear-end collision.
Ford attorneys have defended the vehicles as safe.
Domengeaux said no Lafayette police cruisers have exploded due to the alleged design flaw.
But, he said city-parish government is considering joining the lawsuit if there is a prospect of getting money to fix or replace potentially dangerous police cars.
“We are considering joining that class action if appropriate. We have not made a final decision on that,” he said. “From a safety perspective, we are extremely concerned.”