Tactical-Life.com has confirmed that the Dallas Police Department’s suspension of use of the Sig Sauer P320 was based on a miscommunication of a non-existent defect.
A blog by the name of GunMagWarehouse.com erroneously reported that there had been a Dallas PD training incident involving Sig Sauer P320. Specifically, the blog stated that the pistol “discharged as a result of being dropped during training,” which was far from the truth.
“The Dallas Police Department has not tested the P320 and has had no issue with the P320,” Sig spokesman Jordan Hunter told Tactical-Life.
RELATED STORY: Dallas PD Suspends the Sig P320 from Duty Use
There was never a “defect” with the P320. The confusion stemmed from an out-of-date manual that was given to the Dallas Police Department’s new lieutenant, according to Hunter.
Taking the necessary precautions with the older manual, the lieutenant temporarily suspended use of the P320 until Dallas PD could get in touch with Sig Sauer to clarify the issue.
A memo was issued to the Dallas Police Department detailing the temporary suspension, which someone leaked to another blog and the rumor mill began turning at a ferocious pace.
Sig released the following statement regarding the rumors:
In response to social media rumors questioning the safety of the P320 pistol, a variant of which was selected by the U.S. government as the U.S. Army’s Modular Handgun System (MHS), Sig Sauer, Inc. has full confidence in the reliability, durability and safety of its striker-fired handgun platform. There have been zero (0) reported drop-related P320 incidents in the U.S. commercial market, with hundreds of thousands of guns delivered to date.
The P320 meets and exceeds all U.S. standards for safety, including the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute, Inc. (SAAMI), as well as rigorous testing protocols for global military and law enforcement agencies.
All Sig Sauer pistols incorporate effective mechanical safeties to ensure they only fire when the trigger is pressed. However, like any mechanical device, exposure to acute conditions (e.g. shock, vibration, heavy or repeated drops) may have a negative effect on these safety mechanisms and cause them to not work 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 is committed to producing only the finest products,” said Ron Cohen, President and CEO of Sig Sauer. “Safety and reliability have been and always will be paramount to the Sig Sauer brand.”
The Sig Sauer P320 was recently awarded the U.S. Army’s Modular Handguns System contract, which our writers feel was more than deserved when looking closely at the submission.
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