How and why safety procedures fail. TDA vs Striker vs LEM spinoff

[Hemiram]

I've had one ND myself, after cleaning a .22LR semiauto gun of some kind, don't remember for sure, but it was probably one of my junk Erma ones. I had cleared it, cleaned it, and then, probably because it was really late , like 4-5am, and I was too tired to be doing anything with a safety risk, I put the mag back in, racked the slide, and pulled the trigger. BLAM. It seemed louder than I thought was possible from a .22. My mother was living with me, and somehow, it didn't wake her up! The bullet went through a rug and about a half inch into the floor. My dogs took off, one was in the room, the other one was in my bedroom next to the room I was in. I was genuinely shocked when it went off. After I calmed down, I went to bed, and never told my mother she had slept through it. After that point, no more ammo handling of any kind that late (My normal bedtime from birth is about 5am) at night.

[Tamara]

In re: the dangers of holstering and the whole "odds/stakes" thing, using department data is great...for figuring department risks.

I'm not putting a gun away into a rigid gun bucket with an inch or more of standoff from my body. An IWB holster changes things there. Probably why Gunsite doesn't allow them for 250 classes...

[Rex G]

When Houston PD was primarily a revolver-or-1911 place, there were plenty of unintended discharges with revolvers. When Glocks started becoming popular, the number of NDs with Glocks became horrendous, almost causing Glocks to be banned for duty and personal-time carry. Indeed, the standardization, in 1997, upon specified .40 de-cocker autos for primary duty pistols, may have been partly to keep Glocks out of duty holsters. (Nobody was compelled to switch duty pistols; existing weapons could be grandfathered.)

By 2002, however, the Glock-o-philes had prevailed, and the G22 was added to the list of authorized duty pistols, breaking the de-cocker-only monopoly. By then, training had caught up with the technology, and there were fewer unintended discharges with all types of handguns.

FWIW, in 2017, starting with Class 231, the 9mm P320 is the new standard duty pistol for new-hires.

Houston PD officers, for many decades, have had to buy their/our own firearms, within policy guidelines.

[sharps54]

As a civilian I will admit since switching to AIWB carry I have given thought to the idea of grounding my pistol when police arrive as opposed to reholstering. The concern is not being able to know the skill level and potential "pucker-factor" of the officer that would be drawing my loaded Glock from my AIWB holster. That said I think voodoo_man's comments earlier need to be seriously considered if one decides not to holster.