# Gun deal misfire$: Recalled pistols waste tax dollars



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

After over 150 state troopers took to the street with newly acquired pistols, officials learned that some were defective and jammed during firing.

By *Dave Wedge*

Boston Herald Chief Enterprise Reporter

*F*aulty high-tech guns sold to state police in a deal brokered by a retired trooper-turned-salesman jammed during tests and were yanked off the streets, resulting in hefty training costs and leaving cops dangerously vulnerable. 
 The department began arming troopers with the .40-caliber Sig Sauer double-action Kellerman pistols Nov. 13 and spent thousands in taxpayer dollars sending cops to the New Braintree gun range for daylong training sessions on the new weapons. 
But after 152 troopers were already on the streets with the new guns, officials learned four were defective and jammed during firing.

The defect left an undetermined number of troopers possibly defenseless on the job before the weapons were recalled. Some officers were even told to stay home from work because of the risk, sources told the Herald. 
 "They were having some serious malfunctions," one trooper said. "Some guys couldn't report to work until they went to the range to get their old gun back." 
The guns were summarily recalled, but not without damage to taxpayers. Not only did the department pay to train troopers on the new guns, it also shelled out overtime for troopers to be retrained on their old guns, as required by contract. 
One trooper who received a new gun said his "fired flawlessly," but he was still called at home at night and told to immediately report to the gun range the following morning to get back his old sidearm. 
"It was discovered early and they put the brakes on it," the trooper said of the flap. "They took action right away and rectified it." 
According to sources, the lucrative deal for the new guns was brokered by Nicholas Marcotte, a retired trooper who is now the Northeast regional sales manager for Exeter, N.H.-based gun maker Sigarms Inc. A company spokesman declined comment. 
The guns cost $562 each but the department was reimbursed $462 for each of 90 of the old pistols as a trade-in. A total cost of $43,875 for the 152 guns was paid to a third-party vendor, state police spokesman Lt. William Powers said. 
Powers said the problem was a "modification to the trigger bar," which sources said apparently occurred during assembly. 
"As an immediate precautionary action all 152 weapons that had been issued to department members were recalled," Powers said. 
He added that after Sig Sauer engineers tested all of the new weapons "it was determined that they were acceptable for distribution." 
The new guns have been issued to the latest graduating class of troopers and the department is planning to continue dispersing them to troopers. 
The guns, which are used by federal Homeland Security agents and the Coast Guard, are reportedly more accurate because they require consistent trigger pressure. 
While the department says the problem has been addressed, the defective guns left some of the department's 2,000 troopers uneasy. 
"(A misfire) would not have been a good thing if you needed it," one trooper said.

Another source said some troopers may resist carrying the new weapons because of the firing problems.


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## rg1283 (Sep 14, 2005)

So these are the same guns the DHS has? Have they had problems?


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## Pacman (Aug 29, 2005)

This is old news to us. We in Waltham had several issues regarding these weapons. In fact we sent out nationwide teletypes. At least these Troopers found out about them, before they needed them. Sig Sauer has known of these issues for well over a year now, the State Police should sue them to reclaim some of the moneys lost.


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## lawdog671 (Sep 20, 2005)

Is the Herald trying to be the next Enquirer??...If I wrote a police report with half the information and the stuff that I do have is not accurate...I'd be in the sh*t. First of all, the state police has used SIg for well over 10+ years, goin from 9mm to .40 double/single to now a transition to the new .40 DAKs. SIG has been VERY good to the MSP. This deal would have gone through regardless of WHO brokered it,retired trooper or not because SIG is a tremendously reliable weapon platform. The initial issue was like any other training, in lieu of a work shift, not OT. The amount of malfunctions were minimal considering the amount that went out, and kudos to the MSP armorers and the SIG management to immediately recall the weapons before more went out and correct the problem. The problems the weapons displayed were nothing that immediate action shoudn't correct, but in order to err on the side of safety the powers that be recalled them. It was the right thing to do before 2,700 of them went out. I happen to know that SIG sent 10 engineers and spent quite a bit in their own OT, and some sleepless nights to immediately rectify this problem. Oh and the Herald also left out the torture tests performed by the MSP firearms training unit before the new pistols were to be redeployed to the troops, with a big FAT bill to SIG for ammo etc ...but of course this reporter won't write about that though. And the malfunctions werent SO serious as theyre made out to be by this anonymous trooper, but enough to warrant a look see before a mass issue. It was the RIGHT thing to do. Christ I hate reading misinformed things in the newspapers, don't you?


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## Guest (Dec 7, 2006)

These problems do NOT apply to all the DAKs.............. This latest "batch" of guns that were issued to the MSP were not manufactured in CONUS entirely. The 149 issued to the members of the last class were supposedly manufactured ENTIRELY in the US, and do NOT have the problems as the newest ones. I heard that from a reliable source. If anyone has any further on this, please share the info. Thanks.


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## lawdog671 (Sep 20, 2005)

German frames with American trigger packages......like putting Ford/Chevy engine in Benz/BMW...German precision versus American union work....considering # of troopers on job in comparison to how many guns recalled thi is minimal, a week or two old, and hardly newsworthy if you ask me....


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## Guest (Dec 7, 2006)

I agree. Thanks LD


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## SOT (Jul 30, 2004)

Damn not a good way to get your name in the paper.
I wonder if I have to give back my $48K 
I kid, I kid!


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## Mongo (Aug 10, 2006)

lawdog671 said:


> Is the Herald trying to be the next Enquirer??... quote]
> 
> *Trying?*


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## lawdog671 (Sep 20, 2005)

You know I dont personally know a lot of reporters, but some of these guys are so grossly misinformed and write half truths like it was passed down to them like the 10 Commandments....I'd be ashamed to have my name attached to some of this garbage..SIG is a well respected, puts out great products, and immediately went to work to correct the problem...How is that front page news?? Oh wait ...it's a wayto piss on cops....answered my own question...


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## Dr.Magoo (May 2, 2002)

*Despite misfires, state cops will be issued new pistols*
By *Dave Wedge*
Boston Herald Chief Enterprise Reporter
Friday, December 8, 2006 - Updated: 04:51 AM EST

*S*tate troopers will start trading in their guns for new high-tech pistols Monday, despite a recent flap over batch of the weapons that had to be recalled because some misfired. 
Bad guns







Gun deal misfire$: Recalled pistols waste tax dollars "They've all been repaired and they've been test-fired. They are fit for duty," said state police spokesman Lt. William Powers. "We are going to start up the qualification process again now that the weapons are safe." 
More than 150 troopers had been trained at taxpayer expense and were on the job with the new guns last month when the department discovered it had received a faulty batch of the $500-plus weapons. All of the .40-caliber Sig Sauer double-action Kellerman pistols were recalled and troopers had to be retrained on their old guns, resulting in more taxpayer-funded overtime. Powers said all of the weapons have been extensively test-fired and were cleared by firearms experts. 
The deal for the new guns was brokered by retired trooper Nick Marcotte, who is now a salesman for New Hampshire-based gun maker Sigarms Inc. He declined comment yesterday but Sigarms spokesman Paul Erhardt stood by the weapons, saying, "Forty percent of the state police and highway patrol agencies in the U.S., and numerous other major departments carry Sigarms pistols."


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## lawdog671 (Sep 20, 2005)

Yeah the retraining process was to head back to the academy for less than 30 mins, retrieve old firearm from armorer, shoot few rounds through to make sure weapon is still good to go, and leave. They make it sound like 150 guys were there for a week.


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## Clouseau (Mar 9, 2004)

Sig is the best gun I have ever carried. If given a choice, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

On another note, what's up with the editors of the Herald the last few years? It's obviously personal. The academy BS, turkeys in campaign hats, troopers shooting blanks? Maybe they need reminding that the troopers pens are not shooting blanks.


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