SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — New Jersey is suing gun manufacturer Sig Sauer and demanding the company recall a pistol that has been documented to fire unintentionally.
Through an internal investigation, New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said it’s obvious that the Sig Sauer P320 can misfire while holstered. His team provided several videos showing weapons firing without being touched.
“Body camera footage and eyewitness accounts from police departments in New Jersey and Connecticut and Texas and Washington and Wisconsin and other jurisdictions tell this story all too frequently,” he said. “Police officers going about their day have been struck when their P320 discharged, even when their hands are nowhere near the firearm, putting themselves at risk, putting the public at risk.”
Platkin said the U.S. military had previously deemed the P320 unsafe, requiring an additional safety added to pistols issued to service members.
“Despite being aware of these risks, Sig Sauer continued to sell this product to the civilian public and to law enforcement agencies across the country. They did so without implementing the external safety the Army insisted upon,” he said.
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Some incidents of misfirings have even resulted in death. In 2023, an officer in the Orange Police Department, Det. Lt. Walter Imbert, was fatally shot while cleaning his P320. Investigators said the pistol fired unintentionally, and he was not touching the trigger.
The lawsuit demands the company recall all of these guns at its own expense and stop marketing the product as safe.
Sig Sauer has not responded to KYW Newsradio’s request for comment.