The Blackhawk SERPA holster is one of those hot button topics amongst the firearms community. The Blackhawk SERPA holster is a retention holster compatible with many firearms on the market. Some shooters talk about how it’s an intuitive and useful retention holster, others say it is an unsafe holster prone to causing negligent discharges.

The famous “I just fu***** shot myself” video was caused due to the design of the SERPA holster.

When it comes to firearms, the only thing the trigger finger should ever do is stay straight until it’s ready to go into the trigger guard to pull the trigger.

LAPD SERPA holster ban

This very concern is what has prompted the LAPD to ban the use of Blackhawk SERPA holsters by their officers. Here is the statement.

Date: June 8, 2017 To: All Department Personel From: Commanding Officer, Police Sciences and Training Bureau SUBJECT: DISAPPROVAL OF ALL BLACKHAWK SERPA HOLSTERS The Department has determined that the Blackhawk SERPA holster, and ALL auto-locking, trigger finger manipulated holsters are immediately disapproved for usage by all Department personnel. These holsters violate sound weapon manipulation practices and may increase the liklihood of a negligent discharge.

Notice how the memo specifically bans retention holsters that are manipulated by the trigger finger. This retention holster mechanism is specifically called out as a safety concern as they violate weapon manipulation best practices.

SERPA safety concern in slow motion

Here is a slow motion video of the safety concern of using a Blackhawk SERPA holster. When manipulating the retention button with a trigger finger, the trigger finger has a tendency to slip down into the trigger guard, which causes negligent discharges. Even with training, a very slight deviation in draw stroke can result in the trigger entering the trigger guard.

Furthermore, the SERPA holster design can lock up in an extreme fashion.

While the LAPD is not the first law enforcement agency to ban the Blackhawk SERPA holster, they won’t be the last.