Officer Safety Bulletin: Blackhawk SERPA Auto Lock System Holster
There’s a new e-mail floating around regarding an officer safety issue. It was sent from a reliable source, involving a FLETC negligent discharge. The list of forwards was about as long as your arm and numbered over a hundred agencies (including NASA). Like SERPAs or hate them, it would be prudent to at least read it. There are a number of private training organizations that bar their use during their training, though of course there are others who prefer it or see advantages to it. (Officer.com recently published a good article on building a substantive thigh platform, for instance.)
This is particularly interesting given the recent adoption of a model of SERPA by the USMC and the frequency of its use by military personnel. BOLO Report is not passing judgment on the holster. LE bureaucracy, like that of the military, frequently overreacts to problems in a big way, so this could mean a lot or nothing We just wanted to bring it to your attention.
“A…student accidentally discharged his weapon into his thigh at FLETC/Glynco last week. He had purchased a Blackhawk SERPA Auto
SERPA holster with an example of extended thigh platform ffrom Officer.com
Lock System holster and was using it for the first time. In October of this year, an agent shot himself in the buttocks during a staff qualification at FLETC …using a Blackhawk SERPA. USAF OSI has prohibited their personnel from purchasing or carrying this holster.
In our efforts to continually stay abreast of issues relating to officer safety, the National Training and Emergency Operations Branch (NTEOB) routinely evaluates the law enforcement equipment issued to or carried by OI personnel.
Recently, one such piece of equipment, the Blackhawk SERPA Auto Lock System holster, has come under scrutiny due to safety concerns involving the design of its retention safety device. There have been several recent documented cases, involving law enforcement and civilian personnel, where unintentional discharges have occurred while weapons were being drawn from this holster. Many of these unintentional discharges have resulted in gunshot injuries to the officers/agents involved.
The SERPA is one of the only holster system designed to use the trigger finger to release the retention safety device. This method of releasing the safety device is contrary to our training methods and techniques, which emphasize attacking the holster from the “top down.” In addition, this retention system is completely different from the standard thumb-break holsters currently issued by OI. While it is true that one of the Cardinal Rules of firearms safety was violated by the individual placing his or her finger on the trigger before they were ready to shoot, we believe that the design of the SERPA holster facilitates this action by engaging the trigger finger well before the individual is prepared to shoot.
In light of these events and in accordance with OI policy, specifically Part 2, Section 2, Subsection IV B, NTEOB is suspending all use of the Blackhawk SERPA Auto Lock System holster by OI agents acting in an official, on-duty capacity. NTEOB will thoroughly research and evaluate the safety and effectiveness of this holster system and report on its findings.
In the meantime, those agents who may be affected by this safety bulletin should be directed to utilize their standard agency-issued holster to secure their weapon on their person.
I would like to hear how the holster caused the weapon to discharge. We use SERPA™ for force on force training, and have not run into any complications. We see many students make mistakes on finger placement, especially on shoot on the move excersises. Furthermore the SERPA™ holsters require the trigger finger to release the weapon and when the finger is left in place it rests along the frame of the weapon. I’m sorry gentlemen I see no validity in the complaint. Though I as many of you have all seen the “The gun doesn’t shoot right” guy…. so that being said take your lumps, get over your embarrassment of being another officer who shot himself due to negligent weapon draw. As the article claims it was the first time this holster was used…. hmm that seems to be the problem, a operator using unfamiliar equipment…
Daniel D: To make it clear, we’re not taking sides on this (hopefully we got that point across) without having more information.We’re simply passing along what we know. Obviously your NUMBER ONE safety EVER is the finger-brain combo. It appears these folks are taking the stance that the way this holster is built makes it quantifiably more likely to have a negligent discharge (also note we say negligent discharge, not accidental discharge, because the weapon did NOT go off accidentally). That said, we also are not mocking the officer. Bad things happen sometimes and we should learn from them. So, yes, it’s certainly quite likely unfamiliarity contributed to the incident if not completely caused it. However, without access to all the facts we are simply passing along the basic information. If nothing else, perhaps it will have officers be just a little more cautious.
Daniel D.,
There are few reasons the design is “flawed”. First off, any design that requires the trigger finger to do anything beyond “Pull straight to the rear” during a high-stress situation, IMHO, is not a very good design to have. Yes, it’s my personal opinion, but there are many, many Instructors & Agents that feel the same way. The problem I have seen is the tendancy of shooters to use the tip of their finger, vice the first joint, to deactivate the SERPA retention design. This, combined with the stress of timed fire, has had a tendancy to cause some shooters to ND their weapon.
The second reason, again IMHO, that the design is flawed is because if any debris gets into the retention mechanism, there is a very high chance the retention mechanism will not release. I didn’t believe this until I rolled on my weapon side while in snow, another time in some desert sand, and once in some mud. The release locked up all three times that I tried it. If I need my weapon after a struggle, I need it to release RFN. Know what I mean??
Is the platform perfect, not by a long shot. Will some people continue to use it for work & play?? Yup. It’s relatively cheap and for some reason, some people think it’s HSLD. You can carry whatever you want (within Agency restrictions), but I don’t think I’d give a SERPA to anyone that I cared about. YMMV.
[...] More on how bad Serpas suck __________________ Training over tools [...]
If they put their finger on the trigger prior to engagement, then that is like blaming the bat because you struck out. There needs to be more information on the officers involved, how much training they receive etc.
@Admin, Copy that. Just adding my experience with the product. And I think Dennis hit the nail on the head. It was kinda ny point in my previous post. Weapons and their accessories and like cars with all the makes and models there is something for everyone. I just can’t blame my grouping on my DDM4, or my trigger, or my barrel, or my…. You get my point. Accountability falls on each man and his actions.
to admins, this is just MY opinion, i know you guys are just posting this article for the good of the group.
in my opinion the serpa is just not for some people. if youve created 10 years of training scars not learning trigger finger placement on the draw dont buy a serpa then blame a ND on it. muscle memory is how not to incorrectly draw your firearm. it takes thousands of practice draws before you create a mucle memory with any holster. like others have said even when you do draw with a serpa, the way the holster is made, your finger should rest alongside the frame of the weapon. if you have no trigger control suck it up and say you made a mistake dont blame blackhawk gear…
buy whatever works for you. when you get a new holster you should practice with it for weeks before you attempt to use it in a time is life situation anyways.
bottom line, PRACTICE! TRIGGER CONTROL! SAFTEY! AND MORE PRACTICE!