Houston Police Officer’s Lawsuit Says He Was Wounded by Spontaneous Gunfire from a Defective Weapon

Veteran patrolman seeks more than $10 million in damages from gunmaker, firearms dealer

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rusty Hardin & Associates LLP, along with attorney J. Scott Siscoe, are filing suit against gun manufacturer Sig Sauer, Inc. and Houston firearms dealer CTC Gunworks LLC on behalf of veteran Houston police officer Richard Fernandez, Jr., who was shot in the leg when his service weapon spontaneously fired without anyone handling the weapon or pulling the trigger.

Video of the victim and his attorneys discussing this case is available for use.

The incident involving a SIG P320 semi-automatic pistol occurred Jan. 20 while Officer Fernandez was directing traffic in advance of a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Houston.

“This particular gun model has been linked to hundreds of other similar instances of going off without anyone touching the weapon,” said attorney Rusty Hardin. “Sig Sauer so far has refused to effectively remedy this clearly defective design or issue a warning to the public about this potentially deadly flaw.”

The bullet went through Officer Fernandez’s right calf and lodged in his ankle, and he needed emergency surgery to remove it. He now requires ongoing medical care. The incident has also caused the officer shame and embarrassment, knowing that others may believe he was at fault even though the gun was never even removed from its holster. The incident has also caused him continued anxiety and mental anguish.

Officer Fernandez’s lawsuit comes just days after a U.S. Air Force Security Forces airman was shot and killed in Wyoming while using his Sig Sauer M18 pistol, the military version of the P320. The Air Force Global Strike Command has since temporarily suspended the use of the M18 as it investigates the fatal July 20 incident.

According to the lawsuit, there have been hundreds of other instances of the P320 firing without a trigger pull. Another incident happened in June when a Ceres, California police officer was injured when her holstered Sig Sauer P320 discharged in the parking lot of a junior high school. Video of the incident was released by the Ceres Police Department. Another incident was caught on video in April at a gun range in Knoxville, Tennessee. The gun range has since banned further use of the P320 “due to safety hazards.”

Sig Sauer has denied any responsibility, issuing a blistering statement that says “The P320 CANNOT, under any circumstances, discharge without a trigger pull – that is a fact.”

What Sig Sauer’s statement does not mention is that the company recently and quietly revised the P320 operator’s manual, which now advises: “The most effective safety is to carry your pistol without a round in the chamber, and to load a round in the chamber only when ready to fire.”

The lawsuit notes that despite Sig Sauer’s claims that it is the chosen firearm for military and law enforcement agencies, it did not issue any public statement for how it now advises the gun be used.

Co-defendant CTC Gunworks claims to have a “sense of altruism, gratitude, and respect for the women and men of law enforcement, military veterans, and first responders.” Despite that claim, the lawsuit says, the dealer sold the P320 to Officer Fernandez without any warning regarding its known defects.

Officer Fernandez is seeking monetary relief of more than $10 million.

The case is Richard Fernandez Jr. v. Sig Sauer Inc., and CTC Gunworks LLC, Cause No. 2025-51394 in the 61st District Court in Harris County.

Rusty Hardin & Associates, LLP has built a solid reputation for taking on the causes of its clients and obtaining favorable results in commercial litigation, plaintiffs’ personal injury, white-collar criminal defense, appellate matters, and general civil and criminal litigation. Learn more about the firm’s representative matters: https://www.rustyhardin.com/.

Attorney J. Scott Siscoe has spent his career fighting for his clients primarily focusing his efforts on criminal defense & personal injury matters. Learn more about his practice: https://siscoelawoffice.com/.