SALEM, Ore. — Oregon is following Washington’s lead and barring police recruits from using a popular type of handgun.

In a letter to Oregon police chiefs and sheriffs this week, the state police academy said it will no longer allow recruits to carry Sig Sauer P320 handguns.

KING 5 broke the story in February that Washington’s Criminal Justice Training Commission, which certifies all police recruits, banned the firearm citing safety issues.

The KING 5 Investigators exposed growing concerns about the P320 firing without a trigger pull, including reported incidents here in Washington. There have been no injuries of police officers in our state. 

One citizen who claimed he was shot in the leg by his P320 filed a lawsuit against Sig Sauer in federal court in Seattle. That case was settled and the Pierce County man’s lawyer declined to comment.

The Oregon Department of Public Safety and Training told Oregon’s 180 police agencies “there is enough documented concern” to ban the gun “out of an abundance of caution.” 

Director Phil Castle wrote in Monday’s letter that, “I have had several conversations with firearms experts who have shared their opinions and concerns. This includes one (academy expert), who experienced what he and witnesses attested was an un-commanded discharge in the holster.”

Castle said one of the academy’s “guiding principles” is to assure staff safety. “There have been enough documented occurrences that I, too, am concerned about the safety of our students and staff,” he wrote.

The academy’s communications coordinator Sam Tenney could not say how many Oregon police agencies issue the P320. He said Portland Police and the Oregon State Police do not carry that model firearm. He said the academy is surveying police agencies now to try to determine the actual number.

In Washington, several police agencies have criticized the Washington Criminal Justice Training Commission’s February decision to ban the P320, some calling it "outrageous." 

Bellevue, Kirkland, Anacortes and Burlington police stand by the gun. Nevertheless, Anacortes and Burlington are transitioning to new model firearms.

As KING 5 previously reported, Burlington and the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office are trading their P320s in to a licensed firearms dealer for credit on the purchase of new guns. That means the old P320’s could be sold to citizens.

Sig Sauer has never responded to KING 5’s questions but has issued numerous statements saying the gun is incapable of firing on its own.