Police sergeant and firearms instructor sues SIG Sauer for accidental rifle discharge

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Police sergeant and firearms instructor sues SIG Sauer for accidental rifle discharge​

By Miguel Ortiz
Published May 7, 2026 5:00 AM PDT
https://www.wearethemighty.com/tact...de5qqihKu_aem_RD2J4mfjYmHKZv0jSotXgw#comments

sig sauer m400 rifle discharge lawsuit sig

SIG's M400 is an AR-style rifle. (SIG Sauer)

​


Heeeeeeeeeere we go again. Same old SIG again. Well, sort of.

On April 29, 2026, former North Myrtle Beach Police Department (NMBPD) Sgt. William Norton filed a federal lawsuit against SIG Sauer, Inc. after an incident in which he alleges his SIG M400 duty rifle accidentally discharged.

Also Read: Marine Corps reports recommends SIG P320 engineering review

The incident in question occurred on May 25, 2025 as Norton and other law enforcement officers responded to a mass shooting in Little River, South Carolina.

According to the filing, Norton and other NMBPD officers arrived at Harbourgate Marina to deploy a boat. There, Norton reportedly chambered a round, placed the safety on (standard AR-style rifles like the M400 can only be placed on safe if the hammer is cocked in the rearward position), and used a sling to position the rifle in front of him with the muzzle pointed down.

The suit states that Norton specifically checked the safety selector of his M400 to ensure it was on as he approached the gate to the marina.
Screenshot
(Screenshot from court documents)
“Once at the gate, Sgt. Norton raised his right hand to unlock the gate and raised his left hand to push the gate open,” the filing says. “While both of Sgt. Norton’s hands were on the gate, his M400 rifle suddenly and unexpectedly discharged, twice.”

The first round struck the water a few feet in front of Norton, but the second entered his left upper leg, traveled through his leg, and ended up in his left foot. Two surgeries were required and the wounded officer is still undergoing extensive treatment for his injuries.

Following the incident, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) conducted an investigation and reviewed eyewitness video of the alleged Sig Sauer rifle discharge. While the investigation did not identify a root cause of the discharges, it did confirm that Norton’s hands were on the gate.
Screenshot
The M400 Pro features an ambidextrous safety selector. (Screenshot from court filing)
Norton is not a rookie cop. He started working as an NMBPD officer in 2004. Moreover, he became a firearms instructor in 2012 and served as a senior firearms instructor for the City of North Myrtle Beach. In the lawsuit, Norton alleges that his SIG M400 rifle “contained design and/or manufacturing defects that permitted the rifle to discharge unintentionally at the time of the incident.”

Norton is joined by his wife, Christi, as a plaintiff in the civil suit. His legal counsel, Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky P.C., also represents multiple plaintiffs across the country in lawsuits against SIG Sauer, Inc. for unintended discharges of their P320 pistols.

In those cases, SIG has maintained that the P320 cannot fire without the trigger being pulled. The company did not provide a comment regarding Norton’s allegation of his M400 rifle’s accidental discharges. NMBPD did confirm that the rifle is still being issued in the department.



www.wearethemighty.com/tactical/police-firearms-instructor-sues-sig-sauer-for-rifle-discharge/?fbclid=IwY2xjawRvz05leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFGMk1aVUsyV09QQXFlVWhvc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHpx0EdbxpO7ujw_v7MPbrHh3UKVAxFvjfwiZvS310ccya_hshPrde5qqihKu_aem_RD2J4mfjYmHKZv0jSotXgw
 
think likely it is caught on the body -it is the standard AR that has been proven safe for millions of years.

But suing Sig is probably legal maneuvering for pension, disability, insurance...reasons. If it is suspected that it is self inflicted, even if it is unintentional and no fault, a whole slew of issues will come out concerning those 3 factors. Taking the legal offensive sounds like the case here.
 
I remember longingly looking at a little SIG AR, .22LR fun/training version, in an American gun store, forbidden fruit of course, for a nonresident, but anyway the build quality seemed so good and authentic to a 'real' one that I told myself we would never be so lucky as to have them available in Canada and when I got back that seemed to be the case, it just wasn't sold here. And now thanks to that, what awful disaster was I spared, lol?

Seriously though, the officer had a 5.56 round travel the length of his leg and is in for some serious pain and suffering in the coming days, probably permanent impairment of some sort.
 
IMG_9265.jpeg
this is the m400 trigger group by the way. pretty typical for an ar..
but that hammer notch for the sear is rounded. maybe slop and tolerances were bad for the rifle that malfunctioned.
user error is significant. probably 80% likelihood.
EDIT: https://www.sigsauer.com/rifle-safety-warning
recall for a hammer thats too soft in the m400. causes the same issue from increased wear. at any rate its incredible sigs consistency in
make a gun that shoots its user. maybe if all weapons on earth were made by sig, there would be no war as the weapon kills both the user and his target.
 
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Seen it happen before on an M4 platform while on ops - twice, months apart, seperate firearms, different guys, similar gear, similar incidents + both doing similar things, both Safetys were off at the time - was a pause in application; same year 2007: both incident summaries found that trigger caught on gear ... both indiv received letters of displeasure from the commanding general.
 
9.3 Hunter said:
Seen it happen before on an M4 platform while on ops - twice, months apart, seperate firearms, different guys, similar gear, similar incidents + both doing similar things, both Safetys were off at the time - was a pause in application; same year 2007: both incident summaries found that trigger caught on gear ... both indiv received letters of displeasure from the commanding general.
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There is a technique issue - using a 2pt sling and pulling the rifle on the support side to the hip so the muzzle would clear the left leg and own foot.

If rifle is just dropped to the front especially with 1pt sling and SBR, the muzzle will end up pointing inwards and down at the left leg.

That's how someone shot his own foot years ago when I saw it live.
 
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jetm said:
Well, I am not going to buy one of those rifles!
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Because somebody made a mistake and is relying on video with horrible quality to try and blame something/someone else for his error?

I’d see what you’re saying if the manufacturer was at fault, but nothing has been proven. We it stands this is nothing more than a weak attempt to try and save the embarrassment and possibly his job as an instructor.
 
canadian hunter312 said:
Because somebody made a mistake and is relying on video with horrible quality to try and blame something/someone else for his error?

I’d see what you’re saying if the manufacturer was at fault, but nothing has been proven. We it stands this is nothing more than a weak attempt to try and save the embarrassment and possibly his job as an instructor.
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It was clearly meant to be sarcastic, since we can't buy them anymore.
 
ya right,,more bullsh1T from another slacker american cop who just wants to sue so he doesn't have to work,there's no way that thing discharged itself,most likely got got on some of the useless tactical gear he was wearing,LOL.you clearly see where he's got his Ar hanging,right in front with all that crap hanging off him,LOL..
 
Armedsask said:
It was clearly meant to be sarcastic, since we can't buy them anymore.
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Clearly not everyone pays attention to every model of firearm which is or isn’t allowed to be in the hands of us peasants. Emojis are there for a reason 😉

Sorry, I’ll try to do better and keep up to date with guns I have no interest in using. 🤣


*disclaimer required for CGN busy bodies* no, this does not mean I am a fudd. I believe we should all be allowed to own and use full auto, cannons, 50bmg and carry handguns for defense. Just making it clear before someone jumps on me for not caring about the status of these guns. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:(y)(y):):):):ROFLMAO:
 
canadian hunter312 said:
Clearly not everyone pays attention to every model of firearm which is or isn’t allowed to be in the hands of us peasants. Emojis are there for a reason 😉

Sorry, I’ll try to do better and keep up to date with guns I have no interest in using. 🤣


*disclaimer required for CGN busy bodies* no, this does not mean I am a fudd. I believe we should all be allowed to own and use full auto, cannons, 50bmg and carry handguns for defense. Just making it clear before someone jumps on me for not caring about the status of these guns. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:(y)(y):):):):ROFLMAO:
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Where have you been hiding that you didn't know the AR15 was banned? It was kind of a big deal.
 
Armedsask said:
Where have you been hiding that you didn't know the AR15 was banned? It was kind of a big deal.
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A Sig 400 is an AR15?

It could be, it might not be. As someone who isn’t interested in such guns, I really don’t know. :ROFLMAO:


I’m supposed to know the Sig 400 is banned here in Canada because AR15’s were banned? Ummmm. Okay? Even I know the list of recently banned guns is too long for almost anyone to memorize….


Sorry. I’ll try to do better for you. :ROFLMAO:
 
Sling is a retention device, not a safety device. Guy lost control of his firearm.

Novel solution; hold the firearm properly.

2 cents.
 
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