‘Blood started pouring’ from cop when gun went off by itself, Texas suit says
A Texas police officer is suing a gunmaker after he says his gun went off by itself and shot him.
The lawsuit was filed July 23 in Harris County against SIG Sauer Inc. and CTC Gunworks.
McClatchy News reached out to SIG Sauer Inc. and CTC Gunworks for comment July 29 but did not immediately hear back.
Officer Richard Fernandez has worked for the Houston Police Department for 34 years after joining in 1990. He’s currently a senior police officer, according to a lawsuit.
On Jan. 20, Fernandez was working patrol at a car event for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event when he walked over to another police cruiser blocking traffic, the civil complaint said.
As he walked over, his P320 pistol was holstered and he didn’t touch it, the lawsuit said.
Fernandez was about to start directing cars when he heard a “pop” sound, the complaint said.
“Confused, he then started to feel warmth in his right leg. He looked down, and shocked, noticed a hole in his pant leg. Blood started pouring from his right leg and ankle,” the lawsuit said.
Officers used three tourniquets to wrap his leg, then he was rushed to a hospital, the complaint said.
According to the lawsuit, the gun had been holstered the entire time and Fernandez never pulled the trigger.
“My hand wasn’t anywhere near the gun,” Fernandez told KTRK. “I didn’t touch the gun at all.”
Fernandez had to get surgery to remove the bullet after it went through his calf and lodged into his ankle, the complaint said.
The lawsuit said Fernandez is a “very experienced police officer” and the discharge of his weapon caused him “shame, embarrassment and anxiety.”
SIG Sauer has been sued in the past over the company’s “dangerously defective pistol,” McClatchy News previously reported. The federal lawsuit filed in New Hampshire in November 2022 named 20 plaintiffs who said they were shot when their Sig Sauer P320 pistol went off on its own.
“There have been over 100 incidents (and likely multiples more) of the Sig Sauer unintentionally discharging when the user believed they did not pull the trigger, many of which have caused severe injury to the users and/or bystanders,” the federal complaint said.
The lawsuit Fernandez filed in Texas is asking for an undetermined amount in damages.
