Utah police officer injured by self-inflicted gunshot sues holster manufacturer

KAYSVILLE — A Kaysville police officer who accidentally shot herself while doing firearms training has filed a lawsuit against the company that manufactured her holster, claiming there is a history of accidental discharges involving police officers using the same holster but the company continues to sell it.

Lacy Turner and her attorney, Peter Mifflin, on Tuesday filed a lawsuit in 2nd District Court against Federal Cartridge Company "doing business as Blackhawk! and Blackhawk! Manufacturing."

According to the lawsuit, Blackhawk introduced the Serpa in 2006 as "a retention holster for duty weapons issued to members of the United States armed services, including the United States Marine Corps, to be used with the standard issue M9 Beretta duty pistol." Blackhawk later began selling the holsters to civilians. But not all civilians have M9 Beretta guns, and those other weapons can have different safety mechanisms than the M9, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit notes that in order for a person to draw a gun from a Serpa holster, a retention mechanism must first be pressed.

"The release for the retention mechanism is located on the exterior of the holster on the outboard side, in the area of the trigger/trigger guard of the firearm," according to the lawsuit. The shooter has to use their trigger finger to press a release button before the gun can be pulled out of the holster.

But if the shooter is under duress, a series of failures typically occurs, the lawsuit claims. If the retention mechanism is not deactivated prior to drawing the pistol, it "locks" the gun in the holster.

"Once locked, the shooter experiences a greater amount of duress," the lawsuit states. "The shooter then tends to use more force in an effort to remove the weapon from the holster and tends to transition from digital-pad to digital-tip pressure which causes the trigger finger to bend. ... When the firearm is finally removed from the holster, this bend in the trigger finger positions the finger proximal to the trigger or on the trigger."

The lawsuit contends that the holster manufacturer should know that military members and law enforcement are "exposed to chaotic work environments and hostile situations where foreseeable users will be under physical, mental and emotional stress/duress." But the company still markets the Serpa holster "to at-risk military and law enforcement populations" who "need to draw a weapon under stress or duress in less-than-ideal situations."

"(Blackhawk) has recklessly and knowingly endangered (Turner) and members of the armed forces and first responders with a defective holster for more than a decade," according to the lawsuit.

Federal Cartridge Company did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The lawsuit also alleges that Blackhawk was aware of safety problems with the holster as early as 2010, and lists several examples of students at law enforcement training facilities who used the holster and suffered self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

In June 2022, Turner was training at a gun range in Bountiful, including practicing drawing her weapon quickly in life-threatening situations. She was wearing a Serpa holster and using a Glock handgun.

"Department qualification tests are a high-pressure experience as (Turner's) employability and promotability are at stake based on her ability to qualify on her duty weapon. While training at the range, as she attempted to draw her weapon, the weapon discharged a bullet into her leg," the lawsuit says.

Fellow officers applied a tourniquet and Turner drove herself to a local hospital. Her wound did not heal on its own, however, and it September 2022 she had to have surgery.

"As a result of this episode, (she) suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and surface paresthesia in the area of the exit wound with itching pain below the skin," according to the lawsuit.

She said she incurred nearly $16,000 in medical bills and missed more than four months of work.

"Due to this episode, (Turner's) worklife expectancy as a police officer is impaired. (She) estimates those damages to range between $500,000 to $1 million."

The lawsuit notes that the holster has been banned from the training ranges of police departments in Los Angeles; Dallas; Las Vegas; Austin, Texas; Bothell, Washington; Fayetteville, North Carolina; and by Connecticut State Police.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Law Enforcement Training Center did a study on the holster and concluded that "Serpa CQC holsters are problematic and pose a safety hazard," the lawsuit states.

Turner is accusing the holster manufacturer of negligence and reckless endangerment, saying it failed to "incorporate a reasonably safe design to by used by consumers and police officers in training."

"The use of the trigger finger as an active retention release mechanism is a design defect in the holster," according to the lawsuit. "The user of the trigger finger as an active retention release mechanism with a pistol that does not have a mechanical safety is a design defect in the holster."

I saw a video of a dude with that holster shooting himself in the leg while drawing. He fully admitted in a subsequent video that it happened because he was pressing his trigger finger hard on the holster. It fired when his finger slapped from the holster, to the trigger.
i.e. self-inflicted.

Full disclosure. I own one of those holsters.

I own one too. Never had any problems. Stuff happens and with firearms it can be bad.

A quick Google search shows Blackhawk Serpa recalls in 2007 and 2012.

I wonder what year hers was purchased? In other words, was it part of the recall and if so did she follow up on the recall?

quote:

there is a history of accidental discharges involving police officers using the same holster but the company continues to sell it

With its two glaring issues - not just the trigger finger actuation discharge issue, but also the known issue where gravel or debris causes the mechanism to jam closed resulting in the gun being unable to be drawn - there's zero reason for Blackhawk to still be making and selling Serpa holsters.

They've already totally replaced the Serpa mechanism in their primary holster line with the newer "T-Series" mechanism, which addresses both of the Serpa's big problems, being now thumb-actuated as well as designed to fail open if the locking mechanism were to break or jam. (By all accounts, it's a solid design, and has been adopted by a number of local and federal agencies.)

But yet they still continue to offer Serpa holsters too.

It's well past time for Blackhawk to just put the Serpa out of its misery.

Somewhat related: I recently bought a Blackhawk Omnivore holster as it is touted as "universal" so it can fit multiple brands of pistols. And it does away the trigger finger release.
Well... It aint universal. Nothing I have fits it.
Basically a bucket for your gun. if you choose a non light bearing model, it comes with a weird little thing that you attach to your pistols rail and this forms the security system for the holster.
I do have a tiny Blackhawk IWB holster for the G43 that works pretty well.
No more Blackhawk for me.

Edit - I changed my mind after reading some more about this holster. Maybe it is a bad design concept.

I banned the Serpa when I took over firearms at work. Except for the chief. He still uses it.

No one is allowed to use it for any off duty carry or plainclothes. Our detectives are issued Safariland 578-GLS. I have asked the chief to switch to the 578 but he says he's leaving soon and it's not like he's going to ever draw his gun.

quote:

Originally posted by Lunasee:
I saw a video of a dude with that holster shooting himself in the leg while drawing. He fully admitted in a subsequent video that it happened because he was pressing his trigger finger hard on the holster. It fired when his finger slapped from the holster, to the trigger.
i.e. self-inflicted.

"I just fuckin' shot myself!"

"My emergency training kicked in, and I immediately called my parents."

Yeah, that'd be the infamous Tex Grebner of Tex Grebner Outdoors. He 100% blamed himself at the time, and I disagreed with his analysis then and still do now - the holster contributed to the accident instead of mitigating it. That was twelve years ago, and if I remember right, instructors had already been banning them at classes because people were starting to figure out it was a dangerous design.

However it happens, I hope Blackhawk ceases production on that dangerous piece of shit, and it would only be a good thing for humanity if all the ones ever made happened to mysteriously vaporize all at once.

quote:

Originally posted by xd45man:
It's a good holster...

No, it's not. Safariland is a good holster. The Serpa doesn't serve any beneficial function you can't better achieve with an ALS, and at least two potential flaws that could get you badly hurt or killed, as Rogue detailed.

quote:

Originally posted by Chowser:
I have asked the chief to switch to the 578 but he says he's leaving soon and it's not like he's going to ever draw his gun.

Ouch, that statement tells me a bit more about the mindset of your leadership. I have a suggestion have the guys if you all care about him buy him a holster as an early retirement gift.

I never understand when people defend this POS holster. It is a dangerous design. It hasn’t exploded yet is rarely a good argument.

Chowsers experience with his chief is not unusual. My last chief was a great shot but never carried. Ever. Just a bureaucrat. At least he did the yearly qual. One ignorant chief I had handed me his credit card and told me to go buy a gun for him!
"Uhhh, sorry, Boss buts thats a straw purchase and Federal felony"!

I am pretty conservative when it comes to lawsuits, but this design is stupid and we all know it. They shouldn't still be selling it.

One thing of note from the story- "Fellow officers applied a tourniquet and Turner drove herself to a local hospital."

WTF? Drove herself to the hospital!

I can't imagine anyone currently owning one of these except perhaps for the historical 'MEME quality' nostalgia it may have. It is an example of utter stupidity and lack of logical forethought in it's engineering design...So much so that it's a prime example of 'How NOT to design a holster' and could/should be used in Engineering Design classes for just such an exercise! There are a myriad of better designs available such that it would be irresponsible to even holster a firearm in one for storage in a gun safe IMO. Based on the numerous examples of ND's associated with it, and it's inherent design flaws, it's shocking it's is still manufactured by Blackhawk today!

Good grief....it's been well established for over a decade that the design is deeply flawed. Many, many firearms instructors prohibit this holster for their courses yet, they continue to show up. The updated design does remove the issue of index-finger placement, but still results in a mediocre clunky design. Will be interesting to see which model this officer was using but, in a giant, massive world of holster design and availability, this officer or, this department, choose this one. A brand that is synonymous on the gun range with being dangerous and price-sensitive.

You have to be smarter than the equipment you’re operating.

quote:

Originally posted by Lunasee:
I saw a video of a dude with that holster shooting himself in the leg while drawing. He fully admitted in a subsequent video that it happened because he was pressing his trigger finger hard on the holster. It fired when his finger slapped from the holster, to the trigger.
i.e. self-inflicted.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
With its two glaring issues - not just the trigger finger actuation discharge issue, but also the known issue where gravel or debris causes the mechanism to jam closed resulting in the gun being unable to be drawn ...

The two reasons you couldn't pay me to use one of these holsters.

The first reason I figured out for myself very the first time I laid eyes on the design. "Trigger finger for release? That seems like an accident waiting to happen" was the thought that occurred. The follow-up thought being "mechanical retention and release--what could possibly go wrong?"

If I want a retention holster I'll go with good old dependable thumb-break.

(Though the holster for my Alessi Bodyguard rig does have a pull-through release. But they only agreed to sell me a holster with that release when I informed them the pistol had a DAK trigger.)

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
The follow-up thought being "mechanical retention and release--what could possibly go wrong?"

The Serpa's mechanical retention being bad does not in any way mean that all mechanical retention is bad.

Whether you need active retention or not is a separate discussion, but if you do need/want retention, there are a number of mechanical retention holster designs that won't fail closed like the Serpa, including the nigh-ubiquitous Safariland ALS or SLS systems that most law enforcement agencies use. And as mentioned in my earlier comment, even Blackhawk now has a newer mechanical retention system for their latest duty holsters that's designed to fail open, unlike the Serpa.

I have one of these and just removed the locking guts and use it like one of the old Fobus holsters.

Most of the people around here have banned them from their training classes and CCW courses for obvious reasons.

quote:

She said she incurred nearly $16,000 in medical bills

Wouldn't the department be responsible for the medical bills?