Illinois State Police Concern With Glocks

[RTM2031]

http://www.pantagraph.com/stories/06...50610029.shtml

[[TASF]Overkill]

State police concerns mean new guns

Glock denies any problems

By Kurt Erickson
kerickson@springnet1.com
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SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois State Police troopers soon will be carrying new pistols after officials said a malfunction in one of the most popular police weapons could have killed an officer if left unchecked.

Glock Inc., based in Smyrna, Ga., will replace all of the agency's 2,270 Glock Model 22 handguns at a significant discount, although it disputes a state police claim that it altered the model to compensate for a design flaw.

"There are any number of reasons why we would do a deal like this. Don't necessarily assume right away it is because there is malfunction or a defect or something wrong," Glock attorney Charles Grosse told The Pantagraph on Wednesday.

Police officials say a special night light attached to the .40-caliber pistol in tactical situations changes how the weapon's polymer frame flexes.

"If the trade is not made and a malfunction should occur in a use-of-deadly-force situation, it could result in disastrous consequences, possibly death, for an officer," a purchasing memo issued by the Illinois State Police said.

State Police spokesman Rick Hector said Thursday there were no known injuries because of such problems.

"We're glad we could work with Glock Inc. to resolve this small, yet crucially important glitch in the evolution of modern police sidearms," said Hector.

As part of the deal, Hector said Glock is replacing the weapons for a total of $129,390, or $57 per gun. Hector said that represents a savings to the state of $699,160 if the pistols had been purchased at the same amount they'd cost six years ago.

Glock officials said the deal does not mean there is a problem with the weapon.

"It is not what at first blush it looks like," Grosse said. "You'd normally think, 'well, gosh, no one is going to replace something for less than to buy a new one unless there was a problem.' In our market, that is not the case."

It is not the first time a police force has faced problems with Glock-made pistols.

The (Portland) Oregonian reported last year that the Portland Police Department upgraded its pistols after two .45-caliber Glock Model 21 firearms exploded in the hands of two officers.

The newspaper reported that negotiations were under way between the Portland police and Glock to replace the weapons at no cost.

According to the state police memo, the Glock Model 22 has experienced numerous malfunctions when the special tactical light has been attached.

"To compensate for these problems Glock has redesigned the Model 22 and the ISP needs to obtain the newer redesigned pistols for officer safety," the memo notes.

Hector added: "These add-on lights evolved after the original design of the Glock pistols and the additional weight of the lights caused the polymer frame to flex in a different manner. Glock has made minor changes to the pistol to better handle the added weight of a tactical light."

Although Grosse acknowledged the night lights add different variables to the firing process, he disagreed with the state's claim that the company has altered the gun.

"The most glaring inaccuracy about it is the implication that we, first of all, that we remodeled, or remanufactured our design. We did not do that," said Grosse. "What we did was a commercial decision for commercial reasons that, obviously, we can't discuss."

Grosse added, "If the allegation is that the lights made the gun malfunction so we replaced their guns, that didn't happen and we haven't done that before."

Hector said the state expects to have all 2,270 new Model 22 handguns on hand by the end of this month.

"Our plan is to put the weapons in the officer's hands during their next quarterly firearms training cycle," said Hector.

[Gary G23]

Glock will NEVER admit that there is something wrong with their guns. I sold all of my Glocks after the frame rail breakage "NON-RECALL".

[attackrott]

So they never made it really clear what was going on. Was the added weight causing the fraim to bend wrong and so it was firing differently, Too hight and to the left or what ever. I would think that this would have been figured out a long time ago. If people get a tac light dont they go to the range and put it on to see how it affect there shooting. I dont care what gun it is, it is going to shot some what differently when you alter it or put junk on it. So can the office not hit anything with his block and the light. Or does he just suck and wants to blame something. I dont own a block but might get one someday, you cant say that they are bad guns. I would take and XD over one anyday though.

[omegaic]

If this is a true flaw in the glock design, I wonder if the XD suffers a similar handicap.

[loonybin]

Originally Posted by omegaic

If this is a true flaw in the glock design, I wonder if the XD suffers a similar handicap.

The steel frame inside the polymer on the XD is beefier than the Glock, so it may not.

[lYxFizzyl]

Hey I seen pictures of a glock that has blown up at the "dust cap" or whatever its refured to... and now they are having a "recall" hmmm weird!

[omegaic]

I didn't know the XD had a steel frame inside the polymer. I thought the metal started at the locking block.

[sjp2452]

Um....could....I have a $57 Glock 22?

I'll be your best friend!!!! Pleeeeeze?!

[TomSwift]

Originally Posted by omegaic

I didn't know the XD had a steel frame inside the polymer. I thought the metal started at the locking block.

You are correct. The locking block is the steel "insert" and that is what the above mentioned post meant. There is not steel molded into the frame itself. With the XD you get steel guide rails at the front and polymer guides at the back. The Glock doesn't have this setup. All the guide rails are polymer in a Glock.