Tampa Police Officer Injured When Gun Fired By Itself

A police officer from Tampa, Florida is filing a lawsuit against Sig Sauer, a firearm manufacturer.

The officer, Bob Northrop, has over 49 years of experience with law enforcement. He has worked as a police officer in Tampa for over thirty years, and served another 19 years as a reserve officer. Northrop claims that his weapon, a P320 handgun made by Sig Sauer, fired on its own and led to him seriously injuring himself.

Northrop is not the only one to report this as an issue with Sig Sauer handguns. In fact, there have been dozens of reports of this particular handgun firing on its own over the past few years.

Northrop was working an extra-duty job when his incident with the Sig Sauer firearm happened. He was patrolling baseball and softball games, and was only feet away from many young student. While trying to attach his keys to his belt, the gun went of on its own while in his holster.

The gun went off after being barely brushed, and destroyed bones in his ankle and leg. This lead to many expensive surgeries followed by the need for screw and rods and eventually rehab for recovery.

According to Northrop's attorney, many other people have reported very similar incidents. There are over half a million of these specific models of handguns that are currently being used by both law enforcement and civilians alike. Incidents involving the Sig P320 have been reported in 19 different states.

Sig Sauer specifically stated in one of its campaigns "The P320 won't fire unless you want it to", however, news stations have been investigating potential issues with the gun since as early as 2017.

In 2017, a SWAT team officer was shot by his gun while it was in his holster. The gun fell and shot him without the trigger being pulled. This led to Sig Sauer starting an upgrade program that was voluntary for consumers.

Northrop did have the upgraded handgun, which he started using in 2019. This led prosecutors to believe that Sig Sauer did not to enough to protect consumers, even with their upgrade program.

Another sheriff, Marcie Vadnais, had a similar experience to Northrop. Her Sig P320 went off while she was removing her service belt and fired directly into her thigh. Vadnais sues Sig Sauer, but had to have four surgeries and countless screws and plates.

Northrop and his legal team believe that these instances are clear indicators that there is something very wrong with this gun.