The Milwaukee Police Department will abandon the SIG Sauer P320 as a department-issued sidearm and move to a Glock in 2023, Mayor Cavalier Johnson announced Monday.
Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman says the department is planning to issue new weapons, Glock 45s, starting in early 2023, reports FOX6. The transition will take five to six months to equip more than 1,600 officers.
The unintended discharge of Milwaukee Police Department service weapons was the subject of a lawsuit the Milwaukee Police Association filed against the city. There are multiple ongoing lawsuits against gun manufacturer Sig Sauer across the country. Most concern injuries from Sig P320, the gun all sworn MPD officers are required to carry.
The Milwaukee Police Association announced it will forgo the lawsuit against the city.once the Milwaukee Common Council approves the funding for the new service weapons. The cost to switch to the Glocks will be about $450,000 and the city plans to pay for the new weapons with asset forfeiture funds.
"It is a breath of fresh air where we have open lines of communication on important issues such as these," says Milwaukee Police Association President Andrew Wagner. "We just want these firearms replaced with a safe and reliable firearm."
“Firearms are an essential tool that are carried daily by men and women of law enforcement, and we feel that officers should be able to trust that it won't discharge until they have made the decision to fire it,” said Ryan Windorff, president of the Wisconsin Fraternal Order of Police, soon after the lawsuit was filed by the MPA.
