Warning against trigger jobs for defensive pistols

[goishi]

My marksmanship trainer related some information to me today that I thought may be useful.  I was asking about trigger jobs for the P01.

A policeman friend of his killed somebody in the line of duty...  It was justified and no criminal proceedings ever came about, but he was crucified by the civil courts because he had a trigger job done on his duty gun.  Apparently lawsuit attorneys can make all kinds of accusations, and the standard of proof is less stringent than in a criminal court.  Even the gunsmith who did the trigger job got sued.

So, he recommended that I leave my P01 alone since it's a defense weapon.

Just something to think about.

[mpweave]

Good call in the interests of CYA (but a decent civil defense attorney should be able to deflect such testimony as unhelpful to the jury on the question of negligence).

It's ridiculous to me that law enforcement officers, discharging their duty correctly and efficiently, are still held vulnerable to civil liability where the killing was justified. He should be able to sue the estate of the perp for harrassment and mental anguish for forcing him to discharge his weapon.

[mbott]

This is something I'd like to read up on.  Can you provide a cite on the civil case?

--
Mike

[Walt-Sherrill]

I've heard of these stories -- all anecdotal.  I'd like to see a citation to a real-world case, too.

It's a bit like taking a surgeon to court for cutting people with a sharp knife...

[goishi]

As an exercise into legal research, I'm going to ask for the name of the officer and then try to dig for the court records.  This should all be a matter of public record, so it's just a matter of putting the nose to the grindstone.

I'll report back, hopefully with some PDFs of court documents and findings.

[mbott]

Quote:I'll report back, hopefully with some PDFs of court documents and findings.

Fantastic.

--
Mike

[Kevin Quinlan]

Massad Ayoob has written about this in the past. He also cautions about using handloads in a defensive pistol for the same reason.
Amazon should carry his books, or maybe from his LFI training center.

[Unregistered(d)]

If your state doesn't have civil liability protection laws, like AZ does, then absolutely keep your SD sidearm bone stock with the same brand of ammo your local PD carries.
  Az has a law that states no civil liabilty for justified conduct.

[goishi]

Unfortunately my trainer doesn't want to give up the name of his friend who had legal troubles.  He said like it would be a betrayal of his privacy.

So, we're back to hearsay...  :/

Sorry.

[gldP01]

If you guys read Combat Handguns, Massad Ayoob had a great article a few issues back where he cited many cases that went awry for the justified shooter that had performed trigger jobs or lightened the trigger on their weapons.  I proved to me how hungry DAs and ignorant defense attorneys could cost a justified shooter his own freedom and money.

I will try to dig it out to give you what issue it is in.  No guarantees, I often keep gun mags in my "reading room" (bathroom) until the covers fall off.  I will look.

[Stuart]

everything will come under scrutiny in a civil case..doesn't matter how justified the shooting..there its all about the money..not about innocence..

everything is defensible as long as you are  justifiable in your shoot.
and were not negligent.

your training will be called into question, do you compete, do you reload, what other guns do you have, etc..

if a trigger job makes the gun better for you too shoot and makes you more accurate..that is defensible...

no matter what happens..it won't be fun..

[Jekylltamer]

I heard a similar story from my CCW instructor regarding handloads. I carry a PCR for PD. I recently changed my grips because I think they make the gun look better. I am a Virginia Tech Alum and had the VT ribbon engraved in remembrance of the victims of April 16th.

After reading this post, I feel like I need to put the stock grips back on for fear that the engraving could be misconstrued as "looking for trouble".

Any thoughts?

[Walt-Sherrill]

Keep the grips.   (They do not affect performance in any meaningful way.)

Use of a handgun in a defensive situation should always be a last-resort sort of thing, anyway.

[Omega8omega]

Quote:I am a Virginia Tech Alum and had the VT ribbon engraved in remembrance of the victims of April 16th

Any pictures?

[Jekylltamer]

These aren't the best pics, but you get the idea.