A former Memphis police officer was arrested near the White House on Sunday when police found 20 guns, including several assault weapons, in the trunk of his car, according to a Metro D.C. police report.
Timothy Joseph Bates, 37, Collierville, Tenn., was arrested around 7:15 am near the Renwick Gallery on Pennsylvania Avenue, just across the street from the White House.
A Secret Service officer saw Bates urinating in public and when the officer approached, Bates told him he “came to the White House in order to speak with Adm. Mike Rogers and Gen. Jim Mattis for advice on missing paychecks and how to get the dog chip out of my head,” the police report said.
Rogers is director of the National Security Agency. Mattis is secretary of Defense.
Bates was driving a Silver 2009 Nissan bearing Tennessee Fraternal Order of Police vanity license plates. Officers noticed the FOP plates and asked Bates if he had any weapons, to which he replied yes.
Police saw three gun cases and a further search uncovered more than two dozen items, including a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson, an M4 Platform Bushmaster assault-style weapon, an AK-47 Platform Norinco, a Glock 30, a Tec-9 with a silencer, brass knuckles and several rounds of ammunition.
Memphis police spokesman Sgt. Louis Brownlee said Bates worked for the Memphis Police Department from 2000 until he retired as a patrolman in August 2013.
"We have no further comment on this former employee," Brownlee said.
Metro D.C. Police charged Bates with six counts, including possession of a prohibited weapon; possession of an unregistered firearm; possession of unregistered ammunition; carrying a dangerous weapon outside a home or place of business; carrying a pistol without a license; and unlawful transportation of a firearm.
Bates was arrested and taken to an area hospital for observation.