Sig Saure P320: Is it Safe?

Chicago Police decided to stop using the Sig Sauer P320 earlier this year, but hundreds of officers still possess it

A federal judge is demanding answers on how many CPD officers are carrying guns tied to dozens of lawsuits over alleged misfiring. A federal judge has given the City of Chicago until this week to explain how many Chicago police officers are still carrying a controversial handgun that's been tied to dozens of lawsuits across the country associated with claims that it misfires without a trigger pull.

Across the country, dozens of officers and civilians have sued the gunmaker Sig Sauer alleging that the company's P320 handgun can misfire - even while holstered. Expert witnesses and even a former Sig Sauer employee have alleged the gun is defective. But in court filings, Sig Sauer has denied liability and challenged the authority of expert witnesses' claims.

Chicago Police decided to stop using the Sig Sauer P320 following an April meeting earlier this year; but 780 officers still possess it, according to CPD firearms supervisor’s sworn affidavit. At one time, close to 1,500 officers - or 13 percent of the force - were using it as their service weapon.

According to the CPD firearms supervisor's sworn statement, nearly half of those 1,500 officers that once used the gun are now using an alternative weapon. Still, at least 780 other officers have ordered a new handgun, but their "transitions" have been delayed due to "holster availability' and scheduled pickups of their new weapons, court records show. According to the court filings, a CPD panel decided in April to move away from the controversial handgun and set benchmarks over the summer for officers to supply CPD administrators with how many officers still had the weapon.

The Chicago Police union's president John Catanzara thinks the department isn't moving fast enough. "If something is dangerous like a firearm to the point where you had to ban it, it should be off the street immediately," Catanzara informed several news sources.

Federal Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer seems to agree. In her order filed last week, she wrote "any officer who is in possession of an alternative weapon ... should be required immediately to use that alternative weapon."

Former Virginia police officer Marcie Vadnais says she experienced a misfire incident involving her P320 in 2018 when she was sitting in her vehicle. “I still to this day have two thirds of the rounds in my right leg," painful and still there.

The now-medical former officer from Loudon County, Virginia says she never had any concerns about her weapon before the incident and says it misfired while it was holstered. "This weapon is dangerous; nobody should ever have their hands on this weapon," Vadnais said.

 X-ray images she shared with NBC 5 Investigates show the close-range gunshot shattered her femur. The road to recovery she says was long." It took a long time to be okay to talk about this," she said. "I did struggle a lot with this. The injury, the pain..."Vadnais sued Sig Sauer in 2019 and later settled for an undisclosed amount, and she’s not alone. 

Over the past decade, more than 100 people have made claims that their P320s have misfired, according to publicly available court records. A 2023 investigation by The Washington Post and the non-profit newsroom, The Trace, found that more than 90 have claimed to have suffered injuries as a result. "There have been some wins; some losses," said attorney Jeff Bagnell, who says he's been involved in dozens of lawsuits where his clients have alleged the gun is defective.

The results of legal challenges have been mixed. Bagnell says Sig Sauer has lost three recent cases. Sig Sauer reportedly won a case in 2022 involving a different defect in the P320. And at least 12 other lawsuits have been dismissed, The Trace reported. Bagnell says while Sig Sauer has

Sig Sauer has challenged the results of other cases through appeals, court records reviewed by attorneys involved. In court filings, Sig Sauer has denied liability, defended its product and said that misfires can happen with a variety of guns. And while the company offers a pistol upgrade program through its website, it also says the original version of the P320 "meets and exceeds all U.S. safety standards."

Chicago Police did not respond to NBC 5 Investigates' requests for comment.

Correction: The story has been updated to reflect mixed results of legal challenges. An earlier version misstated Sig Sauer's court victories in two cases. The company won a 2022 case involving a different defect involving the P320. At least 12 other lawsuits have been dismissed, The Trace reported. The story has been updated to reflect that.