One of the largest state law enforcement organizations in the country has tapped the Romeo-optic equipped M17 from SIG Sauer to equip its members.
SIG announced this week that the Texas Department of Public Safety is in the process of transitioning all of its troopers to the M17/M17 Romeo combo. The modular M17 9mm handgun, based on the P320 pistol series, won the Army's Modular Handgun System contract in 2017 to replace the Beretta M9.
Meanwhile, the M17 Romeo closed-emitter red dot sight was introduced in 2023 and was promptly assigned a NATO Stock Number, key to fast-tracking it for procurement by NATO members and partner countries as standardized material.
Related Review: SIG Sauer M17 and Romeo M17 Optic – The American-Made Chosen One
Constructed of forged 7075 aluminum with a beryllium copper flexure arm (more on that in a minute), the Romeo M17 has an extremely low deck height so that armorers can reuse standard iron sights, has 15 illumination settings (including three for use with Gen 3+ night vision), beats drop and submersion tests, and, importantly, has an integral loaded chamber gas deflector shield that keeps the MHS from gassing up the lens after 10-15 rounds.
About the closest consumers can get to the M17 Romeo package is the M17X, which also brings X-Series features such as a better trigger and enhanced magwell along for the ride.
The TXDPS, founded in 1935, has over 4,330 commissioned officer positions, including 2,802 in its Highway Patrol Service. The agency is tasked with patrolling more than 313,000 miles of roadways and assisting in securing 1,254 miles of the international border with Mexico. Other divisions of the TXDPS include the iconic Texas Rangers, a large Criminal Investigations Division, Aviation, and Counterterrorism units.
"We are proud the Texas Department of Public Safety chose the SIG M17 as its official sidearm,” said Tom Jankiewicz, SIG's executive VP for law enforcement sales. “Having selected the Romeo-M17 red dot optic, TXDPS conducted an exhaustive testing process, firing thousands upon thousands of rounds, and concluded that the SIG Romeo-M17, optimized with the SIG M17 pistols, was the clear choice for their agency."
