HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Another lawsuit filed against gun manufacturer Sig Sauer alleges a handgun popular among the military and law enforcement is defective and dangerous.
ABC Action News first reported about the issue last, after a Tampa policeman sued the manufacturer, claiming the gun discharged without him pulling the trigger, causing a permanent injury.
A new lawsuit was filed on behalf of 20 plaintiffs Thursday morning making similar allegations, including three people from the Tampa Bay region.
Former Tampa Police Officer Bob Northrup sued Sig Sauer last year, alleging his P320 service weapon discharged when he was working an off-duty security assignment at a ballgame.
“As soon as I touched my gun, it went off. When it happened, I didn’t know if someone was shooting at me or what had happened, but it just scared the devil out of me,” Northrup said.
A hollow-point bullet blew apart bones in his leg and ankle, leading to surgery and screws, rods and rehab.
A lawsuit filed in federal court Thursday alleges his case was not an isolated one.
The complaint involves 20 plaintiffs from across the country.
Sig Sauer Lawsuit by ABC Action News
“There are hundreds of departments throughout the country who are using the Sig-Sauer P-320 and based upon the information and evidence we’ve uncovered, we believe that this is the most dangerous pistol in the country,” said Attorney Robert Zimmerman, who represents the plaintiffs in the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges “the Sig Sauer P320 is the most dangerous pistol for its users sold in the United States market.”
It alleges that the plaintiffs in the lawsuit were ”lied to and let down by Sig Sauer, falling victim to the dangerously designed and manufactured P320.”
The plaintiffs in the most recent lawsuit include a Tampa Police Officer, a Pasco County s Sheriff’s Deputy and a St. Petersburg civilian.
They all claim Sig Sauer P320s went off without them pulling the trigger.
According to the complaint, all suffered life-altering injuries.
“We have additional clients whose cases have not yet been filed. There are literally over 100 incidents that we know of where the gun has fired without the user wanting it to. And that’s just unacceptable in this day and age,” Zimmerman said.
We contacted the Tampa Police Department, Pasco County Sheriff’s Office and Sig Sauer.
We did not receive any statements in response to Thursday’s lawsuit by our deadline.
In response to Northrup’s lawsuit, the company filed a document saying it “denies that it engaged in any misconduct and that the firearm…was defective.”
Samantha Piatt, Director of Communications and Media Relations, SIG SAUER, Inc. responded to our inquiry about the recently filed lawsuit.
“The P320 is designed to fire when the trigger is pulled. It includes internal safeties that prevent the firearm from discharging without a trigger pull. The NH complaint is claiming the short, light trigger pull of the P320 necessitates an external manual safety to protect against a discharge resulting from accidental or unintended trigger actuation. However, the trigger pull force of the P320 is consistent with industry practice, and SIG offers P320 models with a manual safety, providing its customers the opportunity to choose if their P320 should include a manual safety or not based on individual preferences. Some customers, including many law enforcement agencies, believe that inclusion of a manual safety is a detriment to the safe and reliable use of a pistol given their intended use. Other customers take the opposite view, given their intended use. Giving the customer a choice and an opportunity to exercise their philosophy of use with respect to the firearm they purchase is common amongst manufacturers in the firearms industry.” said Piatt.
Northrup’s case is still ongoing.
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