COVINGTON, LA — The Covington Police department is adding carbon monoxide detectors to many of its police cruisers. According to CPD Chief Tim Lentz, he ordered the detectors be added to the department’s police versions of the Ford Explorer which he says have reportedly been responsible for carbon monoxide poisonings in other areas of the country. There are no reports of anyone getting sick in a Covington police cruiser.  But Lentz says, in a written statement, that the addition of the detectors is an affordable safety precaution. “At $10.90 each, these detectors are a worthwhile investment to protect the department’s most precious asset, the men and women who keep our streets safe,” Lentz says in the statement. The department also provided some photographs of the installation of the detectors. Lentz says each detector lasts for about 18 months and will be installed on the dashboard of the officer’s Ford Explorer police cruisers so that they can be easily monitored. Ford Motors released the following statement in response to Covington PD’s announcement: “Safety is our top priority. We continue to investigate. We have not found elevated levels of carbon monoxide in non-Police Ford Explorers. To address police customers who drive modified vehicles in unique ways, we are covering the costs of specific repairs in every Police Interceptor Utility that may have carbon monoxide concerns, regardless of modifications made after leaving Ford’s factory.”