By Police1 Staff
DALLAS — Sig Sauer is offering P320 pistol upgrades to law enforcement in response to concerns about the weapon unintentionally discharging if it’s dropped.
The company’s “voluntary upgrade” program comes after “recent events indicate that dropping the P320 beyond U.S. standards for safety may cause an unintentional discharge,” they said in a statement on their website.
The Dallas Police Department temporarily suspended the use of the firearm last week due to safety precautions, WMUR reported. The department specified that officers were not pushed to buy the specific firearm for duty and no officers have had issues with the pistol.
The New Hampshire Union Leader reported that the company said that there have been “zero reported drop-related P320 incidents in the U.S. commercial market.” According to News 12 Connecticut, Stamford Officer Vincent Sheperis is suing Sig Sauer for $6 million in damages for a January incident. Sheperis claims his pistol was in its holster when it dropped and went off when it hit the ground, shooting him in the leg.
After working with law enforcement, government and military customers, the company said in a statement that they developed “a number of enhancements in function, reliability and overall safety including drop performance.” The company is offering a “voluntary upgrade” for all customers and said it would detail upgrades on its website on Aug. 14.
Sig Sauer said that the pistol meets and exceeds “all U.S. standards for safety” as well as “rigorous testing protocols for global military and law enforcement agencies.” They assured that their pistols were equipped with the effective safeties, but said exposure to shock, vibrations or heavy or repeated drops may result in the safeties not working as designed.
“This language is common to owner’s manuals of major handgun manufacturers. As a result, individual attempts to perform drop tests outside of professionally controlled environments should not be attempted,” Sig Sauer said in the statement.
“Sig Sauer is committed to our approach on innovation, optimization, and performance, ensuring we produce the finest possible products,” CEO Ron Cohen said in a statement. “Durability, reliability and safety, as well as end-user confidence in the Sig Sauer brand are the priorities for our team.”
The company said the M17 Model of the P320 used by the U.S. Army for its Modular Handgun System is not affected. The civilian model is currently still for sale, CNBC reported.