My Letter:
To: smletters@qnp.newsltd.com.au
Subject: your article on Glocks
Your recent article "Deadly Weapons", by Steele Tallon (can that really be his name?) regarding the alleged safety of the Glock pistol, was very flawed. As a journalist AND a shooter, I was shocked at the misinformation, which betrayed an appalling ignorance by the writer..
I shoot Glocks competitively, to the tune of 10,000 rounds or more per year through them. I compete with others who do the same, and in action/combat pistol shooting competition, no gun is more popular than the Glock, other than the Colt .45 caliber "1911-style" guns. There is a reason for this, and for the fact that Glocks are carried by nearly 60% of all police officers in America. They are stone- reliable, simple in design, and safe. When operated properly— SAFELY being the operative word— they are as safe as any gun. There is an American gun writer named Chuck Taylor who has over 150,000 rounds through his Glock, with no failures such as accidental discharges. You can take a loaded Glock and drop it off a 5 story building and it will not accidentally discharge. Ironically, the "191" MAY be safer than most designed, because of its manually operated safety (which one must become automatic in using), but this requires carrying the gun with the hammer cocked (the way the gun was designed), which to the untrained eye seems unsafe. Therefore, the 1911 has been deemed "politically incorrect" by many police agencies, who are more concerned with public relations than with equipping officers with the best tools.
I have never had or witnessed, or heard of, an acidental discharge like those you describe. Because the people i shoot with are very proficient, I must then conclude that these accidents you report are the result of OPERATOR ERROR by their police owners. It is likely that a change of gun brand would not have prevented many of them. Unless you have a gun with a manual safety blocking the trigger and rendering it inoperable, there is a risk of discharging the gun on rapid, sloppy reholstering. This is solved with proper training and practice. If the officers carry guns with safeties engaged, and don't practice, they may forget or fail to disengage the safety at the most critical moment, and be unable to use the gun defensively. Neither is ideal. Guns like the Sig Sauer, an excellent weapon, have a decocker which lowers the hammer after the first shot, a safe design UNLESS one forgets to decock...leading to an accidental discharge on reholstering. No system is perfect. Also, if you keep your finger off the trigger when loading/unloading/handling the gun, NOTHING bad happens. This is basic weapons handling safety.
There was an assumption in the story that police officers possess special firearms powers, and are inherently proficient. The police officers I compete with will tell you unhesitatingly that the average law officer has at best a mediocre interest and skill with handguns. They don't practice often, are required to qualify only intermittently, and worst, they develop complacency towards the gun over time, handling it casually and often improperly. Then BANG! An accidental discharge happens. I have several police friends who confess to having had them in the locker room or in the field. It is far more common than your author comprehends. Not good, but common. My detective friend likes to say with derision when discussing a cop he doesn't respect... "You know why so-and-so became a cop? Because the post office wasn't hiring."
By saying things like "even with no magazine in the gun, it was possible for a bullet to be in the chamber" betrays an inexcusable ignorance of firearms operation. Virtually every pistol can have a cartridge in the chamber with the magazine removed. Only some will fire with the magazine removed. This is just plain POOR JOURNALISM.
I'm not sure what your agenda is with this story, but my point is: there is no "problem" like this that can't be solved through proper training and practice. Whatever your agenda, at least journalistically you can try to get the facts right.
Sincerely,
PD
