Jon Wells
It is a popular handgun used by police departments in Massachusetts and across the country, but it appears to have a dangerous flaw: At times, it fires on its own, without the trigger being pulled.5 Investigates first shined a spotlight on the issue last fall and has now learned about new problems with the weapon. The weapon at issue is the Sig Sauer P320 handgun, which is carried by hundreds of police officers here in Massachusetts.It recently became the official sidearm of Canada's elite military unit, Joint Task Force 2, that is until one of the new guns fired on its own and shot a soldier in the leg.Network correspondent Murray Brewster broke the story for CBC News in Canada, where he has covered the military for more than a decade.“The incident was serious enough for the Canadian military to remove all of the brand new P320s from service and put them on the shelf until they could figure out exactly why it went off,” Brewster said. “Informally, what we've been told by defense sources is that about four hundred guns were purchased for JTF-2 and all of them are on the shelf.”The biggest military purchase of P320s was made here in the states by the U.S. Army, which paid $580 million in 2017 to make the weapon its official sidearm. But that deal also had a hiccup when the Army found problems with the gun and issued an “Engineering Change Proposal” ordering Sig Sauer to replace the internal firing assembly in every handgun prior to the sale.Attorney Jeff Bagnell, who represents many of the civilians and law enforcement officers who have sued Sig Sauer for misfires, has stated in lawsuits that a special fix for the P320 was apparently reserved for the U.S. Army.“They did it for the military, but they left all the other versions for law enforcement and civilians in the United States as it was, alone,” Bagnell said. “They did not change it. And that's something we contended was irresponsible on their part.”5 Investigates has reviewed court records and media accounts and found 36 reports of Sig Sauer P320 handguns firing without a trigger pull since 2016. The incidents occurred all over the country, from New England to the West Coast, in 19 states.Twenty-six of the surprise discharges involved P320s carried by police officers and one soldier trained in the use of firearms, and more than half these incidents resulted in bullet wounds for officers and civilians, many serious and some life-altering.Brewster said the Canadian military may wind up on the hot seat for its decision to buy the P320. “I was incredibly surprised that there didn't appear to be any consideration to the weapon's history or the problems in the states,” he said. Court records show the problem has hit close to home here in Massachusetts. In separate incidents in 2019, four P320’s purchased by police departments in Cambridge and Somerville allegedly fired without warning and without a trigger pull. Two officers were seriously hurt.5 Investigates surveyed police departments in the state's 20 largest cities, finding a total of 747 Sig Sauer P320 handguns assigned to officers in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and Lawrence.Sig Sauer has not responded to our repeated requests for comment. Brewster said he's also gotten the silent treatment from the New Hampshire-based gun maker. “There have been enough problems with the weapon that legitimate questions have been raised, and they need to be,” he said. “There need to be legitimate answers coming about it.” In a posting on a third-party gun website in the U.S., Sig Sauer claimed it investigated the P320 misfire in Canada and blamed the soldier for carrying the gun in the wrong holster. The investigation by the Canadian defense department is ongoing.