Milwaukee police replacing service weapons that accidentally fired
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee police are starting to roll out new weapons, it was announced Wednesday – replacing guns that the police union said accidentally fired.
For a few more months, officers will still carry the old pistols. But now, at the Milwaukee Police Academy, recruits are training on the new guns – the 9mm Glock G-45.
"The gun has been researched by our team in regards to what was a good gun to transition to," said Chief Jeffrey Norman. "Glock was the choice in regards to that, not only having the reliability but also availability."
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The switch comes after cops said the department's current Sig Sauer P320 weapons would accidentally fire while holstered. It injured two officers – one in 2020 and one this September.
"They’re dumbfounded, because both of these officers that were injured were actually injured by their partner’s weapon. The partners were just doing their normal duties. One was bending down, I think another one was trying to take someone into custody and the gun would just fire inside of their holster," said Andrew Wagner with the Milwaukee Police Association.
Sig Sauer P320
"This is an ongoing examination. There’s people a lot smarter than me looking at this particular product, looking at what was the particular concern," Norman said. There’s a reason why we are saying it’s unexplained: We don’t have an explanation"
The Milwaukee Police Association, the cops' union, sued the city. Now, the union will withdraw the lawsuit as the first shipment of new guns comes to the police academy.
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"When we look at the video in the body cameras, we see that their hands were clearly away from their holster," Wagner said.
Fifty-five recruits plan to graduate in April, while current officers will return to the academy for four hours of training in the range using the new weapons. The chief said the goal is to have all officers trained in the next three to four months.
"There’s no sooner time to ensure that we have a proper firearm for our members," said Norman.
"Those who serve this city have enough to worry about already. Those police officers, that is," said Mayor Cavalier Johnson. "They certainly shouldn’t have to worry about their sidearms firing off unexpectedly. These unexplained discharges have injured people, and that is completely unacceptable to me."
MPD used a different weapon – the 40-caliber Glock 22 – from 1992 to 2009 and switched to the Smith & Wesson M&P .40. The Sig Sauer was not used until 2019.
Milwaukee Police Academy shooting range
"Right now the officers are just satisfied knowing that they are getting a different firearm," said Wagner. "They’re really happy that they are not going to have to worry about endangering the community or themselves when they are carrying these firearms they currently have."
The cost of this change is expected to be roughly $450,000. The city plans to use money seized from citizens and criminal investigations – what's called asset forfeiture – to pay for the new guns. Milwaukee police also said they will sell the Sig Sauer weapons.
There are a number of open lawsuits against Sig Sauer. FOX6 News asked the company for a response to the reported accidental discharges, but did not immediately hear back. The company's website said the P320 exceeds all U.S. safety standards, and that "careless and improper handling" can result in an accidental discharge.