13 Pounds of Awareness

I read an article today and had to write about it. The article involves NYPD officials asking police officers to stop carrying the Kahr K9 pistol as an off-duty sidearm due to the number of accidental discharges it had produced. This 9mm pistol has led to over a dozen of these "ADs" with the numbers increasing. The NYPD have purchased thousands of these weapons for their officers since 1997 and has since modified the pistols to increase the trigger weight pull from 7 1/2 pounds to 13 pounds. 13 pounds!!...really? The article goes on to talk about this increase making it more difficult, etc.

Here's where I lose my mind on this one: the article says that Police departments generally require a heavier pull because they want officers to realize the serious nature of opening fire.

REALLY??? If you cannot grasp the concept of pointing a weapon and knowing that, when you pull that trigger, that bullet is going to destroy whatever it steps in its path, you should not be carrying a weapon...period. Police officers and law enforcement officials [I would assume] understand the gravity of a situation where a drawn gun is needed. I've seen plenty of accidental discharges in the military, mainly due to lack of training or personal disregard for safety. I've seen a soldier in Balad, Iraq attempt to clear his weapon into a clearing barrel outside of a chow hall and inadvertently discharge a round. This individual was immediately scolded publicly by a senior Non-Commissioned Officer. Not one minute later, the same senior NCO, who was next in line to clear his weapon, drew his Beretta M9 and burned a round right into the barrel before the last guy's ball round had even cooled. I think his astonishment and utter embarrassment in front of the others in line was enough that he silently crept into the chow hall never to be seen again. But I digress. It is ludicrous to think that an entire law enforcement agency would alter the sidearms of their officers to allow them "more time" to think about the situation. Accidental discharges or negligent discharges or whatever you want to call them should never happen...especially by professionals who carry firearms every day. The truth is that they do occur. The point here is that increasing a trigger's pull is not going to fix the problem. The problem lies in training and discipline. Fix that and you fix your discharges. Plain and simple.

Here's the link to the article: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/nypd-brass-cops-stop-kahr-k-9-semi-automatic-pistol-off-duty-gun-article-1.990037

Cheers,
Brad