Texas police officer sues Ford, claims his squad SUV made him sick

iStock/Thinkstock(AUSTIN, Texas) — A Texas police officer has filed a lawsuit against Ford Motor Company, claiming that his squad car literally made him sick.

Austin Police Sgt. Zachary LaHood was issued a 2011 Ford Explorer, a sport utility vehicle that’s popular with police departments around the country. In March, while he was behind the wheel of the SUV, LaHood passed out and had a minor accident.

His attorney, Brian Chase, blames an exhaust leak that’s been found in that model.

“I want the public to be outraged over our police driving these cars to protect us, sometimes at very high rates of speed, are at risk of passing out and not only killing themselves, but crashing into us,” Chase said.

LaHood alleges that Ford Motor Co. knew about a potential exhaust leak in 2011 to 2015 Explorer police models and issued a recall. The automaker says it’s aware of an odor in some Explorers, but adds that its own investigation has determined that it isn’t a health or safety risk.

The sergeant says he has lingering neurological damage and wants over a million dollars from Ford and the dealership which, his lawsuit alleges, failed to fix the problem.

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