PRESS CONFERENCE
WASHINGTON, DC -- SEPT 7, 2002

A Message from SafetyForum

WASHINGTON, DC -- SEPT 7 -- To members of the press, thank you for joining us today for this momentous event.

The purpose of this press conference today is not to condemn, but rather to extend a sincere and forthright appeal to Ford Motor Company to make a genuine commitment to law enforcement officials and American taxpayers whose tax dollars funded the purchase of these vehicles to immediately correct the persistent deficiencies in fuel tanks on more than 400,000 Crown Victoria Police Cruisers nationwide.

We would like to acknowledge the appearance of Mrs. Ann Marie Nielsen, widow of Officer Robert Nielsen who was killed June 12; the Reverend and Mrs. Robert Davis, whose son, Officer Jeff Davis, died May 30; and Sergeant Greg Abbott who narrowly escaped death in his burning police car on July 4.  We are honored by their presence and awed by their courage in appearing here today.

We and millions of other Americans grieve with them for the losses they have suffered. We appreciate the profound personal sacrifice they are making by participating in this press conference today.  They are dedicated to ensuring that these vehicles are corrected so that other families do not have to experience similar tragedies.  Their loved ones are heroes, as are the other police officers who have died or been seriously injured in the line of duty in rear-end collisions involving Ford Motor Company's Crown Victoria Police Cruiser.

The presence today of renowned attorneys David L. Perry and Pat McGroder also speaks to the significance of this occasion. Mr. Perry and Mr. McGroder have distinguished themselves among preeminent litigators in a number of practice areas and have become champions of the law enforcement community by vigorously pursuing modification of the Crown Victoria Police Cruiser's flawed fuel tank.

Additional information about the Ford Crown Victoria Police Cruiser is available through our web site at http://www.safetyforum.com/cvpi. Mr. Perry is the Safetyforum.com Attorney of Record for this issue.

Safetyforum.com and Safetyforum Research exist to serve the public, the media, the legal community, policy makers, manufacturers and service providers in their efforts to identify and correct hazardous products and practices.

Once again we thank you for your attendance here today.

Contact: Lee Jones, 501-268-7466 or 703-469-3700