By Scott J. Croteau
MassLive.com
AUBURN, Mass. — A total of six Auburn police officers have been recommended for medical treatment after unsafe levels of carbon monoxide were found in their blood.
All but one have returned to duty, authorities said, after several police Ford Explorer SUVs tested positive for carbon monoxide.
An Auburn police officer rear-ended a vehicle on Auburn Street Wednesday morning after town officials believe he lost consciousness due to carbon monoxide poisoning inside his department Ford Explorer SUV with the Interceptor package.
After the incident, Auburn Police Chief Andrew Sluckis Jr. had the entire department of 37 tested for carbon monoxide. Five additional officers were treated.
Sluckis said the officer injured in the crash has not returned to work. The other five have returned to duty. The officer injured in the crash had lost consciousness and complained of headaches.
A total of 10 police department Ford Explorer SUVs with the Interceptor packages tested positive for carbon monoxide and were removed from the fleet. In addition to the police department vehicles, there were two fire department vehicles and a public works vehicle removed from service after testing positive for carbon monoxide.
Jacobson said the fire department and public works vehicles were Ford Explorers but did not have the Interceptor packages.
The town is working with Ford engineers who are testing the 13 vehicles. All the Ford Explorers used by the town have been tested.
The loss of 10 of the department’s 28 SUVs has not impacted police’s ability to respond to calls, Sluckis said.
“It hasn’t had a negative effect on our ability to respond to calls,” he said.
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