Sig Sauer Sued by New Jersey State Police
Kevin Felts 05.18.17
There was once a time when Sig Sauer was considered one of the better handgun companies. In the 1980s during competition for a new military handgun, the two finalists were Sig Sauer and Beretta. Even though Beretta prevailed, Sig Sauer was adopted by numerous government agencies, such as the FBI.
Over the past few decades there has been grumbling in the Sig Sauer fan base about a drop in quality. For example, in 2011 the Dutch police canceled a contract with Sig Sauer because the P250 DC was deemed unsafe.
New Jersey State Police have been so unhappy with the Sig Sauer P229 Enhanced Elite handgun that 3,000 have been returned to Sig and the state is suing.
- $1,657,000.00 for the cost of the handguns.
- $856,680.21 for holsters that were bought for the P229.
- Expenses for testing the handguns.
Read the lawsuit here: New Jersey State Police Sig Sauer Complaint
In 2014, shortly after the new handguns were purchased, the P229 Enhanced Elite started having failure to eject issues. Sig was contacted and several remedies were proposed. None of the proposed solutions resolved the issue.
The first proposed fix was a new extractor pin. The barrels were replaced next, followed by the extractor springs.
Finally, Sig offered to replace the P229 Enhanced Elite with the P229 Legacy and provided a timeline to do so. Sig Sauer later notified the New Jersey State Police that they were unable to deliver the handguns within the proposed timeline.
After spending sixteen months trying to resolve the failure to extract issue, the New Jersey State Police decided it was time to sue.
This lawsuit seems to be a reasonable attempt to recover some of the tax money that was ultimately wasted over the unfortunate adoption of the Sig pistol. Let’s hope some of the money makes it back into government coffers rather than lawyers’ pockets.
Final Thoughts
In light of all this, can Sig Sauer ever reclaim their former glory and reputation for quality? In the 1980s and 90s, Sig was regarded as one of the better handgun companies. Now they face lawsuits and canceled contracts.
What do you think?
