Cleveland Sues Ford Over Police Cruisers

The city filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court Wednesday on behalf of law enforcement agencies across Ohio that accuses Ford Motor Co. of selling unsafe police cars.

Similar lawsuits have been filed in Texas, Arizona, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida concerning the potential for fuel tank fires in Crown Victoria police cars, a city official said.

In the last 10 years, there have been reports of at least a dozen police officer deaths in fiery wrecks involving Crown Victoria police cruisers.

Ford spokeswoman Sara Tatchio said the lawsuit was not a surprise to the company because the issue is not new.

“This is a very serious situation for us, and we’re treating it with urgency,” she said.

On July 2, Texas filed suit to press for safety improvements in the fuel systems of an estimated 25,000 Crown Victorias.

This year, Arizona suspended all Crown Victoria purchases for police agencies and demanded a safety review after the deaths of three Highway Patrol officers.

Ford has been trying to determine how to prevent gas tank fires and explosions after rear-end collisions in its police car version of the Crown Victoria.

Ford, which has maintained that the cars meet safety standards and do not need to be recalled, agreed in June to set up two study panels and has been attempting to conduct safety tests. However, this month Ford said it hasn’t been able to get fuel bladders needed for those tests.

The auto maker is considering making foam-filled bladders surrounding the gas tank to block fuel from leaking in a collision.

The city of Cleveland’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, lists seven fuel tank fires during 2000 and 2001, all of which led to injuries or deaths. None of the examples involved an Ohio police vehicle.

R. Eric Kennedy, the attorney for the city, said, “This lawsuit is trying to prevent deaths from happening.”

The lawsuit does not specify a dollar amount sought for damages, but it says compensatory and punitive damages are appropriate, as are restitution and attorney fees.

Cleveland has 481 police cars that are Ford Crown Victorias, along with Mayor Jane Campbell’s city car.

On Wednesday, shares of Ford were down 26 cents to $11.63 in New York Stock Exchange trading.