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Last week, I spoke briefly about the SIG P320, also known as The Gun That Goes Off By Itself.
Since then, there has been a new development in the case that serves as a flashpoint for the current events that surround it.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/air-force-announces-arrest-related-201251351.html
Allegedly, the event that caused multiple government agencies and private ranges to ban the use of the P320 and its variants is being investigated as a case of manslaughter rather than an Uncommanded Discharge.
This sequence of events is interesting to me, as it seems to be a very concrete example of several trends I've noticed in group thought, regardless of the context or subculture.
With respect to the first point, it's interesting to look back in history. When striker fired pistols first became popular in the form of the Glock, people frequently complained that they were unsafe, with terms like "Glock leg" and "Glocknade" embedding themselves in the lexicon. Even the Beretta M9, looked upon favorably now, was an object of fear, with whispered rumors that the slide would fly off and put a hole through your skull. In both cases there was a kernel of truth to the aspersions, much like how a pre-2018 P320 was not drop safe.
On the second point, my local rod and gun club banned the P320 after the air force did the same. Multiple members have asked for clarification, and the board is pointedly not offering a response. This behavior appears in multiple domains, with sexual misconduct accusations being the most immediate comparison that comes to mind.
The third point reminds me of a book I read a few years ago, titled "When Prophecy Fails". It chronicles the lives of cult members after a rapture-like event does not occur at the specified time. A fraction of the believers harden their resolve and decide that the lack of a rapture only proves that the prophecy was right after all. In the case of the SIG Uncommanded Discharge, I have had extended family members claim that SIG and the DOD are conspiring to frame the arrested Airman to keep their contracts intact.
Regardless of how the story develops long term, the current environment is interesting to observe, if nothing else.
I don't know that the new charges necessarily obviate the idea that the gun is unsafe. I don't know that the facts have been revealed in enough specificity to have a complete picture, but let's suppose the following happened: The guy threw his holstered gun down on the desk, and contact with the surface caused it to discharge, killing the other guy. The first guy then lied about what happened to investigators, claiming the gun was just sitting on the desk when it went off. Federal law defines involuntary manslaughter as "[T]he commission...without due caution and circumspection, of a lawful act which might produce death".
I don't think it's unreasonable to argue that the careless handling of a loaded firearm in the manner described above qualifies as a lawful act which might produce death performed in an incautious manner. But it's also true that a firearm so handled shouldn't go off accidentally. I would suspect that there will be a civil suit stemming from this, and Sig got lucky that it happened in Wyoming, where juries are stingy, giving the case a decent chance at settlement. But now they're on notice like they've never been before, and unless they recall the gun outright or come up with a fix, no matter how clunky, that absolutely prevents that from happening, they run the risk of having to explain to a Philadelphia jury why that was just too expensive and said jury deciding that trebling that amount is a just way of calculating punitive damages. It's still a tough spot to be in.
More of a legal question than anything, but wouldn’t a recall be a tacit admission of guilt? It seems like it might well be, as you’d have to have an understanding of the mechanism that’s causing the failure so you can replace either the part or replace the gun with a completely different design that removes the offending mechanism.
Great question. Yes, the existence of a recall, while not a tacit admission of guilt, can be used as evidence that a product is defective. But part of taking prudent legal action is knowing when you're beat. On the one side you have a victim, possibly a law enforcement officer, who is seriously injured or worse because a gun went off when it shouldn't have. On the other side you have a company with millions of dollars in military and police contracts insisting that the product is perfectly safe even though the exact same thing has happened several times before and the plaintiff has an expert who can describe the defect and explain to the jury exactly how the accident occurred. Make that argument to the right jury and a 5 million dollar wrongful death verdict balloons into 50 million in punitive damages. If the company hasn't figured it out yet, the jury will help them, and they will keep helping them until they either fix the problem or go out of business.
Do a recall now and it will cost a bundle, but a certain percentage of people will take advantage of the recall (especially considering that a large number of guns are owned by institutional customers), preventing some suits from being filed, and accidents that do result in suits net them some advantages. First, punitive damages are much less of a risk since they took affirmative steps to mitigate the problem. Second, it may reduce the liability if the company can prove that the user was on notice that the product was dangerous and should be modified or discarded, and neglected to take advantage of the recall program, based on a theory of comparative negligence or voluntary assumption of the risk. The downside is that it would cost a hell of a lot of money, but they could theoretically have to do it anyway. If a police department bought a bunch of these and was apprehensive about using them, they could try to sue on a theory of breach of implied warranty. This wouldn't be an easy case, though.
That makes sense. I just wanted a bit of clarification about what the liability situation is. The law can get counterintuitive at times.
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