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"When gun manufacturer Sig Sauer was about to land a massive deal in 2016 to supply the US Army with a new pistol, the military made a disturbing discovery during testing. If dropped at a certain angle, the gun would go off by itself. The company won the deal last year anyway, then fixed the guns before shipping them.
The Army’s apparent endorsement helped make a nearly identical Sig Sauer pistol, the P320, a popular choice for police departments and the general public. But for several months, the company sold its commercial version of the gun without the fix it had made for the military, a CNN investigation has found.
Over the past two years, three law enforcement officers say they have suffered gunshot injuries when their P320s fired after being dropped or jostled, according to lawsuits and police department documents obtained by CNN Investigates. One sheriff’s deputy in Virginia had her femur shattered when the gun went off as she removed the holstered pistol, according to a lawsuit she filed against Sig Sauer in April, and she has been told she may never walk normally again. At least six other P320 users have had their guns go off accidentally as well.
As the gun community started to circulate word of the problem, Sig Sauer announced a “voluntary upgrade” program in August 2017, allowing P320 owners to ship their guns to the company for a free fix to guard against the “rare occurrence” of accidental discharge in a drop. But its website insists that the unrepaired gun “meets and exceeds all US safety standards,” and the company has not issued a recall."
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