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Fort Worth Police investigating officer for using pepper spray on bikers

A Fort Worth Police officer was placed on administrative duties after video surfaced showing him allegedly spraying pepper spray at a group of passing motorcyclists during a traffic stop over the weekend. An officer with the FWPD pulled over one of the group's chase vehicles, a red Dodge Ram, that was escorting riders in case of a crash or mechanical troubles. The video, shot from one of the motorcyclists' helmet cams, caught the FWPD officer exiting his vehicle and, before approaching the truck, spraying something into traffic at the group of riders. WFAA News 8 spoke with the men responsible for the video, Jack Kinney and Chase Stone, via Skype from Longview, TX, on March 13. "It's the last thing I would expect to see," Kinney told the station. "His intent was to hit the bikers for sure, there's no doubt about it," said Stone. "His intent was to send somebody down, if not to cause a major accident with that spray". As the video went viral, receiving more than 200,000 views in 15 hours, people shared videos showing the group of motorcyclists riding in an irresponsible manner through traffic right before the alleged pepper spray incident. Fort Worth Police say they received numerous calls about the pack of riders from motorists on surrounding highways, with complaints ranging from weaving in and out of lanes to popping wheelies through traffic at high speed. News 8 asked Kinney and Stone if it was possible that the officer felt threatened. "If you're worried about safety, why would you pepper spray a large group of bikers like that?" asked Kinney. The Dallas Morning News identified the officer as W. Figueroa. Worth Police released an official statement about the incident late on the afternoon of March 13. They stated that the officer in question, a six-year FWPD veteran, had been relieved of his patrol duties and placed on desk duty pending the investigation. FWPD Corporal Tracey Knight also made a statement indicating that pepper-spraying drivers in oncoming traffic is not a department-sanctioned tactic. News Source: WFAA News 8, The Dallas Morning News Government/Legal Dodge RAM Safety Truck Motorcycle Police/Emergency Videos Sedan road rage bikers

Ram recalling 131,000 heavy duty trucks over fire hazard

For a little over a year, Ram has been investigating an issue with a number of heavy duty trucks from the 2021 model year that have experienced engine bay fires. For some reason, even when the engine is off, the solid-state intake heater relay in Ram trucks fitted with the 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel can suffer a short and catch fire. In March of this year, the company planned to recall about 20,000 vehicles in the U.S. and Canada when it thought the problem was limited to trucks with unprotected relays. In May, Ram discovered the issue occurring even in trucks with protected relays. Now Ram is preparing to recall 131,177 trucks from the 2021 and 2022 model years. The models in question are:  2021-2022 Ram 2500 (DJ) pickups built between August 3, 2020 and October 8, 2021 (67,597 units) 2021-2022 Ram 3500 (D2) pickups built between August 5, 2020 and October 8, 2021 (39,324 units) 2021-2022 Ram 3500 Chassis Cabs (DD) built between August 12, 2020 and October 7, 2021 (7,317 units) 2021-2022 Ram 4500/5500 (DP) Chassis Cabs built between November 13, 2020 and October 8, 2021 (16,939 units) Ram says it is aware of about 10 engine bay fires, but no accidents nor injuries due to the fires. The bigger issue for now is that Fiat Chrysler engineers working with the component supplier still haven't been able to find a root cause for the fires. Until they can nail down a cause, Ram recommends parking affected models outside, away from structures and other vehicles.   The pickup maker expects to begin mailing letters to owners on December 3, the same day it informs dealers of the fix for the issue. Owners with questions can call the Stellantis customer service line at 1-800-853-1403, the automaker's internal code for the recall being Y76. Or they can contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153). Or go to www.nhtsa.gov. The NHTSA campaign number is 21V798 Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Chrysler appoints new heads of Alfa Romeo and Ram

Chrysler has announced to two key appointments to its senior leadership, both of them taking immediate effect. First up is Reid Bigland, who has been named head of the Alfa Romeo brand for North America. Bigland has served until now as head of the Ram Truck brand, a portfolio he now hands over to Robert Hegbloom, who had served until now as its director.
As a result of the appointments, both Bigland and Hegbloom will take up seats on Chrysler's NAFTA Leadership Team, and Bigland will also join the Fiat Chrysler Group Executive Council - the highest decision-making body in the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles empire.
As per Sergio Marchionne's leadership style, Bigland will continue to serve in two major capacities, maintaining his role as president and CEO of Chrysler Canada. Other senior executives who hold multiple key portfolios include Harald Wester (who serves as the group's Chief Technology Officer and also overseas Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Abarth), Olivier Francois (group Chief Marketing Officer and head of the Fiat brand) and Michael Manley (head of the Asia-Pacific region and the Jeep brand).