Quote:In 2014, LA County Sheriffs Department (LASD) swapped out their Beretta 92F’s for the Smith & Wesson M&P9; from a handgun with an external safety and an 11.5 pound initial trigger pull, to a handgun without an external safety and a consistent 6.5 pound trigger pull. The County purchased some 6100 M&P’s in all. The Office of Inspector General County of Los Angeles has just released a report on the change entitled Assessing the Rise in Unintended Discharges Following the Sheriff’s Department’s Conversion to a New Handgun. According to the OIG’s Executive Summary . . .

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD or Department) personnel. The information suggested that the recent adoption of a new standard issue pistol that was not equipped with an external manual safety had led to a steep rise in unintended discharges. The OIG, therefore, began a review that analyzed the introduction, training and performance record of the new handgun in the LASD to determine whether there was indeed a rise in unintended discharges, their likely causes, and any promising remedies suggested by the facts. We found a sharp increase in unintended tactical discharges putting officers and the public at risk.

Even without reading the 52-page report, TTAG’s Armed Intelligentsia could not doubt tell the OIG both the causes and cure for the rise in “tactical” negligent discharges (NDs) – from three in 2012 to 19 in 2014. Our AI would finger poor training (so so speak). And guess what? They’d be right! All of the ND’s involved deputies pulling the trigger at the wrong time! Imagine that.