Regarding Accidental Discharge From a P220

[Capaholic]

I'm about to hopefully soon purchase a P220 and unfortunately found this while researching

http://www.odmp.org/officer/16325-officer-jesse-kenneth-paderez

I need help with understanding how this could have happened?

[Josh]

firing pin block should have prevented this and normally when in a holster the firing pin will be blocked from the hammer if handgun is carried condition one.

multiple safety devices had to fail or be bypassed for this to happen.

Not to diminish the tragedy of the situation but sometimes suicides of officers are covered up for various reasons, it would not be the first time ive heard of it.

[Jonathan Doe]

multiple safety devices had to fail or be bypassed for this to happen.

Not to diminish the tragedy of the situation but sometimes suicides of officers are covered up for various reasons, it would not be the first time ive heard of it.

I personally examined the particular officer's pistol. The pistol was fully functional. It was the operator induced malfunction with the older model pistol prior to hammer rebound spring system. It was definitely not a suicide.

[fun2none]

I personally examined the particular officer's pistol. The pistol was fully functional. It was the operator induced malfunction with the older model pistol prior to hammer rebound spring system. It was definitely not a suicide.

How did Officer Paderez induce a malfunction and cause an unintentional discharge??

[Turbinator]

Sad and tragic -

San Fernando Police Department
California
End of Watch: Wednesday, July 17, 2002

Biographical Info
Age: 46
Tour of Duty: 10 years
Badge Number: 112

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire (Accidental)
Date of Incident: Wednesday, July 17, 2002
Weapon Used: Officer's handgun
Suspect Info: Not available

Officer Jesse Paderez was accidentally shot and killed at 0645 hours when his Sig P-220, .45 caliber service weapon, fell to the ground and discharged, striking him in the head.

He had gone to the police station to pickup a patrol car before going to a training course on radar usage and was carrying his service weapon and other items in his arms. As he walked across the parking lot, his weapon, still in its holster, fell to the ground and discharged when the hammer struck the pavement.

Officer Paderez had been employed with the San Fernando Police Department for ten years. He was one of 13 brothers and sisters.

Turby

[JDay]

How does a pistol 'fall' out of your holster? That part is fishy.

[Turbinator]

How does a pistol 'fall' out of your holster? That part is fishy.

No, it's not really. If your holster's retention screw isn't tightened enough, or it gets loose over time, or you don't have a retention screw, it can happen.

Turby

[Jonathan Doe]

The pistol was in fact in the holster and snapped at the time of incident..

[Capaholic]

How does a pistol 'fall' out of your holster? That part is fishy.

"Paderez, a 10-year veteran of the San Fernando Police Department, had apparently been carrying his holstered .45-caliber gun in his hands as he walked through the department parking lot transferring material from his private vehicle to his marked unit.

Lt. Mike Langston said, "Paderez had stopped at the station about 6:45 a.m. to pick up a patrol car and was scheduled to attend a training class on radar use later that morning. The gun was secured in the holster, but he was carrying it in his hands, most likely along with other items. The hammer of the gun struck the ground when it dropped and discharged. We believe it was a freak accident."

[wilit]

Seems to me this might be an interesting case involving the safe handgun list. The P220 is on the list and therefore should be immune to accidental discharges from being dropped.

Edit: Nevermind, just noticed this: Date of Incident: Wednesday, July 17, 2002

[M. Sage]

I personally examined the particular officer's pistol. The pistol was fully functional. It was the operator induced malfunction with the older model pistol prior to hammer rebound spring system. It was definitely not a suicide.

It didn't have the trigger rebound and intercept? I was under the impression that the P220 always had that.

[Turbinator]

The pistol was in fact in the holster and snapped at the time of incident..

So then safe to say that the holstered gun fell, the hammer struck the ground, and the chambered round went off while the gun was holstered, yes?

Turby

[masameet]

I personally examined the particular officer's pistol. The pistol was fully functional. It was the operator induced malfunction with the older model pistol prior to hammer rebound spring system. It was definitely not a suicide.

The pistol was in fact in the holster and snapped at the time of incident..

Talk about a genuine tragedy.

Not trying to be morbidly curious. But I am curious to know how many times you replicated the discharge? What did you use to simulate the, I suppose, "cocked and locked" P220 striking the ground? A ball-peen hammer with a dummy round or spent casing?

[masameet]

It didn't have the trigger rebound and intercept? I was under the impression that the P220 always had that.

This Gunsworld review of the Sig P220 says the P220 had several upgrades during its history, including "a new hammer return spring [and] a rebounding hammer ...."

[Josh]

I personally examined the particular officer's pistol. The pistol was fully functional. It was the operator induced malfunction with the older model pistol prior to hammer rebound spring system. It was definitely not a suicide.

Im guessing then the pistol was not de-cocked with the lever but instead thumbed down and allowed to rest on the firing pin.

Just to clarify for others, the very first gen sigs did not have a rebound spring system as you were NOT to thumb the hammer down. Thumbing the hammer down bypasses ALL of the safeties on the handgun.

Using the decock lever rests the hammer on the safety catch and keeps the firing pin block engaged.

By thumbing the hammer down and resting it on the firing pin, a force to the hammer will transfer to the firing pin while the firing pin block is dis-engaged. And with sufficient force it will be just as if the hammer was dropped.

All sigs later on were designed so that a spring pulls the hammer back just enough to re-engage the safety catch and firing pin block.

Very sad this happened especially since its was 100% preventable.