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Bradley Hulett's family suing maker of 'dangerous and defective' gun that killed boy in 2019

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Published  December 17, 2021 11:21pm EST
Tampa
FOX 13 News

Parents sue SIG SAUER over teen's shooting death

Haley Hinds reports

TAMPA, Fla. - A new lawsuit has been filed in the shooting death of Bradley Hulett. The 15-year-old's family is shifting focus from the person who was holding the gun, to the company that made the gun. 

The lawsuit, filed December 9, alleges that the SIG SAUER firearm that killed their son two years ago was defective and fired on its own. And they're not the only ones named in the wrongful death complaint.

December 13, 2019, four friends were at a Tampa Police officer's home in Lithia while he was away. They got ahold of his personal gun. And 15-year-old Christopher "Ramsey" Bevan accidentally shot and killed Hulett.

Though Bevan was charged with manslaughter, Hulett's family agreed the now-17-year-old would complete an extensive Pretrial Intervention Program instead of prison time.

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Bradley Hulett's mother Meagan explains why the family supported the decision to divert her son's killer from trial.

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Now, Hulett's family is shifting blame to SIG SAUER, alleging their P320 firearm was "dangerous and defective." In the lawsuit, they allege the company failed to provide warnings the gun could fire "without the trigger even being pulled."

That's what they claim happened in 2019. According to the complaint, "although the magazine was empty, there was a single, Tampa Police Department-issued bullet in the chamber." 

Prosecutor, attorney discuss pre-trial intervention deal for Ramsey Bevan

State Attorney Andrew Warren and Hulett family attorney Anthony Rickman explain what led them to the 'resolution' proposed for the Bradley Hulett case, including the possibility of a manufacturing defect in the gun.

PREVIOUS: Teen to be tried as adult in shooting death of 15-year-old Bradley Hulett

State Attorney Andrew Warren voiced concerns about the weapon at a press conference in November. 

"The gun involved is a SIG SAUER P320," Warren said. "It has a defect that allows the gun to fire without the trigger being pulled. This has been seen with examples across the country and right here in Tampa."

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A Tampa Police Reserve Officer says his department-issued service weapon fired without pulling the trigger, seriously injuring him. The 30-year veteran of the force is now suing the company that manufactures the firearm.

RELATED: Tampa officer sues Sig Sauer for alleged defect that caused misfire, injury

SIG SAUER acknowledged in 2017 that "dropping the P320 … may cause an unintentional discharge." They offered a free, voluntary program allowing owners to "upgrade" to a newer version with safety enhancements. Tampa PD sent back their issued P320s to be refitted.

Hulett's father, Brad is suing SIG SAUER for Strict Liability and Negligence, as well as Shoot Straight where the P320 was bought. He's also suing TPD, where Officer Edwin Perez registered his personal weapon, for negligence. He's suing all three for infliction of emotional distress.

Bradley Hulett

Bradley Hulett

The complaint says Hulett's parents are seeking damages in excess of $30,000. Legal analyst Imran Ansari, a partner at Aidala, Bertuna & Kamins, said this lawsuit offers an alternate explanation to the original manslaughter case.

"This alternate explanation is that this perhaps was not a reckless, and certainly not an intentional killing, but perhaps a defect in that firearm that caused this tragedy," Ansari said.

Christopher Bevan spared jail time in teen's shooting

A deal, announced Tuesday, would prevent jail time for the Hillsborough County teen accused of killing his friend Bradley Hulett with a TPD officer's gun back in 2019. Instead, Ramsey Bevan will help preach the importance of gun safety.

Former Tampa officer Bob Northrop has also filed a civil suit against SIG SAUER after he said his service weapon, the P320, fired on its own, shattering his leg and ankle. His legal team represents nearly two-dozen other cases.

"SIG needs to get up and stand up and face up to what they've done and recall this gun," Northrup told FOX 13 in August.

RELATED: Affidavit: Friend wanted to 'scare' Bradley Hulett before deadly shooting at officer's home

As for the Hulett case, Ansari said, "That's going to be up to the plaintiff's lawyers to really get that evidence through expert witnesses, through analysis on the firearms, to see if they could connect that dot and say that this was a defective firearm in the first instance."

Attorney Jonathan Freidin, who's representing the Huletts, shared this statement with FOX 13: "Since Bradley's death, the Hulett family has only wanted justice for Bradley -- and this lawsuit seeks exactly that.  We have great faith in the judicial system and are confident that a jury will rule in our favor once they see all the facts.  We won't be making any further comment at this time out of respect for the process."

The Huletts are seeking a jury trial. As for those named in the lawsuit, Tampa PD said they don't comment on pending litigation. We have not heard back from SIG SAUER or Shoot Straight.