quote:
Question for the handgun experts.

Wilson said he pulled the trigger multiple times but it didn't fire due to Brown having his hand on the slide. Now, with a round chambered wouldn't the gun fire but not eject and chamber another round? Or would him holding the gun actually prevent the gun from firing?

Thanks in advance. I'll hang up and listen.

A DA/SA handgun might not fire if out of battery. IE Brown's hand could have moved the slide back enough to take the gun out of battery.

Another possibility is if Brown or Wilson's hand obstructed the exposed hammer from executing a full DA hammer stroke. that could result in a light, incomplete, or non-existent primer strike.

Wilson's testimony says he pulled the trigger twice with no discharge on the first shot before it went bang. That would be consistent with an out of battery DA pull or an obstructed hammer. Third pull went bang.

Then he has a gun that has fired with someones hand on the slide. Likely the gun would have failed to eject (FTE) or not returned fully into battery after ejecting the spent case as part of an incomplete firing cycle.

Wilson then claims another trigger pull results in a click (no bang). Not surprising as the gun was fired with a hand on the slide and/or hammer.

A "blind rack" (manually cycling the slide without looking at it) gets Wilson's gun back into a state where it will fire (round in the chamber, and the hammer cocked or unobstructed, gun in battery, previous case ejected) so the second shot out the window in Brown's general direction happens.

A DA/SA gun is a little more complicated to analyze compared to a striker fired (Glock/M&P, etc) weapon with regards to obstructed firing.

FWIW a DA/SA gun as a duty weapon was designed so the FIRST trigger pull is much heavier than the second. This is designed to avoid accidental discharge as a result of sympathetic muscle response (where you accidentally pull the trigger while warding off an assailant with your off hand while your gun is drawn).

Striker fired pistols (Glock/SD) do not share this feature. Every trigger pull whether first or last is the same. Additionally there is no exposed hammer. Also, there is no external safety that is independent of the trigger. There are many arguments each way whether these design features are strengths or weaknesses.

TL:DR Now you know more than you wanted about Semi Auto Pistols!