NYPD brass to cops: Stop using Kahr K-9

[Blue Baby]

The NYPD has instructed cops to stop carrying an off-duty gun that has a trigger so light it’s been blamed for a series of accidental discharges, the Daily News has learned.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne says the Kahr K-9 semi-automatic pistol has led to more than a dozen such shootings — none resulting in a fatality. The shootings have occurred over the last few years, a source said.

The NYPD last Monday ordered that the revocation order be read aloud to cops at each precinct for 10 consecutive roll calls.

Kahr Arms has done business with the NYPD since 1997, and more than 5,000 Kahrs have been sold to city cops, said Frank Harris, a spokesman for the gun firm.

Harris denied that the pistol discharges when it is dropped and blamed any accidental shootings on user error.

He admitted that the NYPD raised concerns about the pistol five years ago.

That’s when new recruits were told not to buy the Kahr, Harris said.

At the time, the NYPD asked Kahr to increase the trigger weight pull — the pressure needed to squeeze off a round — from 7 1/2 pounds to 13 pounds.

The new threshold is a pound more than the pressure needed to fire a Glock, the gun of choice for most NYPD officers.

The increase would make it more difficult to fire the gun, but Kahr said it couldn’t make the change.

“We worked for about three years to try to modify the gun,” Harris said.

“After three years trying to meet their requirements, we just had to give up. But we still maintained the guns still in use. We have a very good relationship with them.

“It was a surprise to me that they made this decision.”

A lighter trigger pull has the advantage of making the gun easier to fire and to shoot more accurately.

Police departments generally require a heavier pull because they want officers to realize the serious nature of opening fire.

Overall, there were 21 accidental discharges last year, only six of which took place during a confrontation with a suspect, according to the NYPD.

In 2009, eight of the 23 accidental shootings involved a confrontation with a suspect.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/cri...l-off-duty-gun-article-1.990037#ixzz1gKrUfKif

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[Glocktogo]

Police departments generally require a heavier pull because they want officers to realize the serious nature of opening fire.

WTF??? The weight of the trigger pull is expected to cause officers to realize they're using deadly force? Perhaps NYPD shouldn't carry firearms at all if this is the case? Just how much of a moron do you have to be to ND the DAO type trigger pull on a Kahr anyway? If you don't want the gun to fire, don't put your boogerhook on the BANG switch!!!

 

[aestus]

Wtf..... I was thinking the Kahr's were having 2 pound trigger pulls or something, but 7 pounds??? I think I'd rather shoot my mosin nagant than shoot a pistol with a 13 pound trigger. New Yorkers just need to learn to keep their booger hook off the trigger.

 

[NikatKimber]

There's no farkin way my Glock has a 12 lb trigger. Or is that with the NYPD linkage?

Still, that's incredible. They want a 13 lb trigger just so it's harder for officers to pull it?

 

[HiPower]

ONLY NYC could come up with the absolute brilliance of modifying the hardware requirements to fix a seriously deficient training program. San Francisco will be next.

 

[HMFIC]

I'd say Kahr needs to really look at this.

I'm not impressed with them just turning a blind eye and putting their head in the sand.

 

[Jefpainthorse]

Lot's of NYPD officers retread to South Florida when they retire. A few catch on with local PD"S and SO's (what's not to like... a 20 year cop who's 40 something).

I've shot with a few of those guys. If he's got some prior military and SWAT training or something ....he's a pretty good hand with a firearm. If he was a beat cop... probably not. Most cops are not "gun guys" and with the size of the NYPD the lack of "gun guys" is noticable.

I knew a retired Department Armorer- gunsmith who talked often of drifting green cartridges from revolvers. NYPD officers had been know to load a revolver the first day... and never unload it for the next 30 years. They would borrow a gun for qualifications... their service weapons never came out of the holster.

The NYPD has a Qualification range at Rodman's Neck, Bronx. They have a steady flow of officers shooting annual qualifications there nearly 365 days a year to get them all in. Most days they work 2 shifts at the range. There is a glaring lack of private shooting ranges in the NYC area... most officers are as restricted as the legal civilians when it comes to getting extra practice or training with a handgun.

 

[SMS]

Why should Kahr change their gun to fix the stupidity of NYPD administrators? 5,000 guns is a lot, but if NYPD was asking for something stupid, where do you draw the line?

 

[Bigjoe.45]

13# trigger pull will make them even more prone to miss! Keep your finger off the trigger.

 

[Old Fart]

San Francisco will be next.

Exactly what I was thinking.