(Texas Scorecard) – The Houston Police Department has ordered approximately 1,200 officers to replace their SIG Sauer P320 service weapons following a lawsuit alleging the pistol’s potential for unintended discharges.
Under the new directive, officers have until the end of September to make the switch.
The decision follows a lawsuit filed by veteran HPD officer Richard Fernandez Jr., who alleges that his holstered P320 discharged without a trigger pull.
The $10 million lawsuit, filed against the pistol’s manufacturer, SIG Sauer, claims Fernandez now suffers permanent numbness in his foot as a result of the incident.
“I heard a pop, but it didn’t sound like a gunshot,” Fernandez recounted. “I looked down, saw a hole in my pant leg, and realized I was bleeding. My hand wasn’t anywhere near the gun.”
His legal team argues that SIG Sauer has long been aware of serious design flaws in the P320. The suit joins more than 100 similar claims filed nationwide since 2017, many alleging the pistols fired while holstered or after being dropped.
The P320 has a controversial track record with HPD. In 2017, tests done by HPD found the pistol can accidentally fire almost 10 percent of the time after being dropped.
While it was adopted by the U.S. military in 2017 as the M17 and M18, the civilian version soon faced scrutiny following reports of “drop-fire” incidents. These concerns prompted SIG Sauer to launch a voluntary upgrade program in 2017 to address potential discharge risks.
Despite the upgrades, lawsuits have continued to emerge alleging that the P320 can still fire without the trigger being pulled.
A jury found the SIG P320 “defectively designed” in a Massachusetts police lawsuit last month.
In a notable incident earlier this year, the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command suspended use of the M18 following a fatal accidental shooting at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming.
SIG Sauer maintains a firm defense of the P320’s design. On its official site, the company states that the pistol “CANNOT discharge without a trigger pull,” citing results from extensive internal and third-party testing.
SIG has dismissed the claims as misinformation spread by “agenda-driven parties.”