Olympic Arms is not happy at all with the Jacksonville, FL Sheriff’s Office decision to recall AR-15s manufactured by the company for, uh, firing when they weren’t supposed to:

 Olympic Arms, a rifle manufacturer, is blasting the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, saying the department is wasting taxpayer dollars by how it is handling a trigger malfunction.

Action News first reported Thursday a number of JSO officers had to turn in their Olympic Arms AR-15 rifles due to several incidents in which the weapon discharged on its own.

No one was hurt in those incidents.

JSO said it’ll cost the agency $50,000 to fix.

Olympic Arms responded in a statement from sales director Tom Spithaler to Action News.

“Olympic Arms is concerned when any report is given that one of our firearms has acted in a manner that is atypical to proper function, or acts in a manner considered unsafe,” wrote Spithaler.

Olympic Arms isn’t covering themselves in glory here.

Sure, it’s embarrassing when a company’s firearms are withdrawn from service after what seems to be multiple accidental discharges, and any manufacturer would hope to have an opportunity to fix these problems quietly, without an embarrassing public recall.

JSO’s decision to make the recall public certainly didn’t win any friends at Olympic Arms, but Oly’s turning around and complaining that the department is “wasting taxpayer dollars” is only going to raise the profile of the dispute, and give others reason to question the quality of Olympic Arms rifles.

The public spat likely also damages the company’s chances of future law enforcement contracts, as top cops are unlikely to want to partner with a company that might lash out at them if things go sideways.

Part of government contracting is butt-kissing customer relationships. If you can’t play the game, you won’t be in the game for long.