Massachusetts police officer sues gunmaker over a handgun that allegedly fires on its own

I have a Sig P320 and mine gets mean when it drinks. Hard to predict what they'll decide to do on their own!!

Old news. People are jumping on the bandwagon of the "new" P-320 issue.

Having been a civil servant working in multiple law enforcement agencies since leaving the military, I can tell you that right now, every discontented cop out there (and there are many, many) is formulating an exit strategy and is looking for a payday.

Not to make light of this alleged new P-320 tendency, but I am fast growing very cynical when I see these new reports. There's the reported story, and there's what really happened.

The P-320 has become one of the single-most vetted pistols, ever, so there's no point at this time to perpetuate interweb chatter about how faulty a particular handgun model is said to be...

Well said, Old dog... In my 22 years on the street I saw (and was involved in) several of those "exit strategy" type deals. Proving that a member of your agency was engaged in fraud was difficult (not impossible -but you had to really work at it to catch them out...). The sad truth is that even when things aren't going badly at all (my era was 1973 to 1995) the job itself is hard on those that do it... Add today's environment and I wouldn't be surprised at anything we heard about with officers looking for an out (with a compensation of course...). Wish it weren't so... Communities that allow their officers to be vilified and mis-treated deserve exactly what they'll get as a result... Look at the big northern cities for prime examples.

By the way in my era the usual route was a workman's comp case, based on "injuries on the job"... I was also involved with one or two candidates for hire that came from big agencies that would not allow access to their personnel records for former officers - but that's a topic for another conversation entirely... after consulting with an attorney...

That pistol seems to have adopted by the Army. So far, no public reports of such a problem from that angle. Of course, soldiers are far better trained than just cops. (That was satire for anyone in doubt.)

I'm also curious as to how a striker fired pistol fires all by itself. Doesn't the striker have to be compressed, at least a bit?

I'm also curious as to how a striker fired pistol fires all by itself. Doesn't the striker have to be compressed, at least a bit?

Click to expand...

Glocks complete the striker compression on the trigger pull, SIG p320s don't.

Having worked LE ranges for the last dozen years, lax gun handling (ie finger going straight to the trigger when pistol clears the holster) is the primary cause of NDs.

Sometimes they'll insist their finger wasn't on the trigger, even though I was watching from just a few feet away and saw said finger on the trigger.

My question would be......why would he have felt the need to remove his weapon in a crowded van and wave it around as described in the article? An obstruction in his holster? Really? Would the gun have gone off if it had stayed in the holster? I don't believe it. Sounds like a case of if you tell a story long enough, some folks will believe it.

He removed the Sig from his holster. . . (and). . . it discharged with his finger nowhere near the trigger,"

Click to expand...

Yeah, I'll believe that.

Maybe consider switching back to the Fife Safety System and have him keep his cartridge in his shirt pocket until things get going.

Should’ve gone with Glock.
Just kidding. I have the Sig M17 and the M18. And as soon as prices get back to somewhere normal, I’m going to pickup a P320 Carry.
I haven’t had any trouble with my Sigs so far.

Have an expert see if he can duplicate the malfunction. Check for modifications , and this should be all that's necessary. If it happened once, it should be able to reproduce using the same ammo. But it sounds too easy , let's see what happens.

Pure, unadulterated Bovine Excrement

“Despite the three misfires experienced by its own officers, the Cambridge Police Department is still using the P320.”

I wonder if the department is still using the officers…

I don't want one of those striker fired pistols as I consider them an accident waiting to happen. The firing mechanism is perpetually cocked, the firing pin under spring tension, this is the safety on a Glock, for example.



and it does not take much to have one of those things go off. This is a 2017 video about the Sig P320 going off if it is dropped on the back of the slide. What has changed?



It does not take much time or effort to find accidental discharges with a SIG P320

Sig Sauer P320 pistol mishaps reported

Sig Sauer Faces $10 Million Lawsuit over P320 Pistol After Alleged Accidental Discharge Wounds Federal Agent

Class Action Lawsuit in Texas


What happened when a SEPTA officer’s handgun spontaneously fired in Philly’s Suburban Station


After Year-long Legal Battle, SEPTA is Complying With Requests For Evidence in Harrowing 2019 Incident in Which An On-duty Transit Cop's Gun Fired Without Him Touching The Weapon

Every time I read of an owner being shot with their striker fired weapon, it just reinforces my opinion to stay away from those things.

Hammer down baby. De energize the firing mechanism so it won't go off by itself.

Did Cambridge previously issue the SIG P250 double-action only hammer fired gun?
Did the officer who had a discharge with his SIG P320 striker fired pistol previously carry a SIG P250?
I know double action only internal hammer pistols can lead users to sloppy trigger discipline due to the insensitive trigger and heavy pull.
Had it drummed into me: Finger off the trigger until the sights are on an intended target. Can't forget that lesson.

Edited: There is no universal condition of the striker in striker fired pistols as far as being cocked or storing potential energy in spring compression to push the firing pin.
Glock is deemed 50% but not sure if that is completely accurate. Racking the slide compresses the striker behind the pin block plunger. IMO its one of the safest auto loading pistols available. The Walther P99 carries much more energy or spring compression and has a de-cocker. It's basically much like a hammered SA/DA.

I thought the P320/M17 was designed to not store enough kinetic energy to fire a round and that added energy from the trigger or like a drop on a hard surface was necessary. A short internet search looks to prove me wrong. I'm am more curious on the lubrication that gave that SIG submission the contract win.

They offered a fix to everyone.

If this was in fact a recalled pistol, I’d like to note, he didn’t drop it, he was fondling it in the van.

If this was an early pistol, should the blame be on the department, as the owner of the pistol, or the officer that was in control of the weapon?

It isn’t on Sig, they made an offer to repair it that, evidently, went unanswered.

Even though the problem is known, and there is a repair, he didn’t drop his pistol. It was in his hand.

I think fingers had more to do with it than gravity.

"He removed the Sig from his holster, looked for any obstructions in its holster, and as he was holding or moving the Sig (Sauer handgun) in front of his body it discharged with his finger nowhere near the trigger," said attorney Jeff Bagnell, who represents Ahern and other officers around the country who say their P320s have fired on their own.

Know where a pistol not in use belongs?

In its holster.

Know where a pistol should NOT be removed from its holster in non-emergent situations?

Around crowds of other people.

WHY, on God's green Earth, would ANYBODY draw their weapon in the circumstances described?

What I'm smelling here isn't roses.

Maybe it's haunted. He should get it exorcised.

edwardware said:

Yeah, I'll believe that.

Maybe consider switching back to the Fife Safety System and have him keep his cartridge in his shirt pocket until things get going.

Click to expand...

This is a good option for 90 percent of people.
He may be one of the 90.
I love that show by the way. I watched reruns with my elderly neighbor when I was a kid mowing his yard. (Of course this was back before every old neighbor is a bad person)
I don't believe for a minute that an unmodified firearm will go off without touching the trigger. Especially if you didn't drop it.

RetiredUSNChief said:

Know where a pistol not in use belongs? In its holster.

Click to expand...

It is not inconceivable that a good and orderly manual of arms would include a redundant press check (i.e. in the SWAT van enroute to the shindig).

Granted, I'd prefer it had been done in the arms room before loading up, but checking in a vehicle isn't absolutely wrong.

Pulling the trigger by negligence is.

Slamfire said:

I don't want one of those striker fired pistols as I consider them an accident waiting to happen. The firing mechanism is perpetually cocked, the firing pin under spring tension, this is the safety on a Glock, for example.

View attachment 1005867

and it does not take much to have one of those things go off. This is a 2017 video about the Sig P320 going off if it is dropped on the back of the slide. What has changed?



It does not take much time or effort to find accidental discharges with a SIG P320

Sig Sauer P320 pistol mishaps reported

Sig Sauer Faces $10 Million Lawsuit over P320 Pistol After Alleged Accidental Discharge Wounds Federal Agent

Class Action Lawsuit in Texas


What happened when a SEPTA officer’s handgun spontaneously fired in Philly’s Suburban Station


After Year-long Legal Battle, SEPTA is Complying With Requests For Evidence in Harrowing 2019 Incident in Which An On-duty Transit Cop's Gun Fired Without Him Touching The Weapon

Every time I read of an owner being shot with their striker fired weapon, it just reinforces my opinion to stay away from those things.

Hammer down baby. De energize the firing mechanism so it won't go off by itself.

View attachment 1005872

Click to expand...

Like I’ve always said, There are a lot of people that know a lot about things that they know very little about.
The Glock pistols have three safeties, four if one counts the mass between their ears that controls the trigger finder.
I’m not big on cut and paste, but here’s a few pics showing the three safeties.


For those that wish to know a little more about the safeties you can find the information here.
https://overwatchprecision.com/blog/glock-safeties-the-basics/

As soon as I saw Cambridge I hit the doubtful switch. I was on the big dept across the river.

I get very skeptical of these kinds of claims. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen because it absolutely does what I am saying is I think it’s probably more likely that somebody made a mistake or the gun was messed with on the users end. Maybe it’s because I’m a cynic or maybe it’s because I’m a socialist but I’m pretty skeptical. I find it difficult to believe it any manufacturer wouldn’t test again so thoroughly that they wouldn’t catch something like this before they even release it.