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Faulty Pistol Has Dallas And Houston Police Departments Revising Deals With Manufacturer

Thomas Hawk/Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

From Texas Standard:

The saying, you’re only as good as your equipment, has serious implications for first responders. A faulty service weapon can mean the difference between life and death for police officers and those they protect, which makes what's happening in Houston all the more frightening.

 

Sinjin Smith of the Houston Chronicle says recent viral videos show the primary weapon for incoming cadets — the SigSauerP320—  misfiring, and firing when dropped.Smith says there are no reported injuries or lawsuits in Texas so far, but that the Dallas Police Department is suspending use of the weapon. Houston’s Police Department has arranged a weapon swap with Sig Sauer to replace the faulty model.

The U.S. military recently chose the P320 to be a standard-issue weapon, but Smith says the trigger system might be different than that of the model used by the police departments.

On Monday, Sig Sauer is set to announce a program for military and law enforcement customers to help deal with the faulty weapons.

 

Written by Caroline Covington.

Copyright 2020 KUT 90.5. To see more, visit KUT 90.5.

Alain Stephens heads up investigative reports for Texas Standard. A graduate of the University of North Texas and a veteran of two of the U.S. armed forces, Alain served both in the Coast Guard and the Air Force. His work has won accolades for exposing how the state pays those with disabilities below minimum wage, as well as the fast-tracking of juveniles to adult prisons. Contact Alain at astephens@kut.org, or (512) 232-6173.