The decision to ban the Sig Sauer P320 at training facilities could be costly for the departments that carry the widely used handgun.
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SEATTLE — The Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (WSCJTC) permanently banned using a popular police handgun at its facilities, citing evidence that the Sig Sauer P320 can fire without anyone pulling the trigger.
“My position has to be safety because we know so much now that if I make a different decision, I don’t feel like I’m being responsible,” said Monica Alexander, WSCJTC executive director.
Alexander temporarily halted using the weapon in October, while a task force investigated concerns. As the KING 5 Investigators reported earlier this month, the WSCJTC began investigating the P320 in October when there was allegedly an uncommanded discharge of the weapon by a recruit at a firing range in Spokane. No one was injured.
The P320 and its variants are used by police, the United States military and hundreds of thousands of civilians. But the firearm has been dogged by accusations that it can fire when bumped or dropped, even while seated in a holster.
Across the country, the number of incidents reported by police officers has been growing. Some of the gunshots are recorded on bodycam video, providing powerful evidence the gun fired on its own.
“It’s literally like setting a ticking time bomb wherever it’s sitting waiting for it to go off,” said former Virginia deputy Marcie Vadnais, whose law enforcement career ended when her P320 fired in the holster in 2018. The bullet tore through her thigh requiring numerous surgeries.
Sig Sauer has not responded to messages seeking comment. It has maintained the gun cannot be fired without the trigger being pulled.
The WSCJTC does not know how many Washington police agencies carry P320s statewide, but it estimates less than 10%. Documents revealed that the Bellevue Police Department, Burlington Police Department, and Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office issued P320s.
