Former Tennessee officer arrested near White House with cache of weapons

WASHINGTON - A former Tennessee police officer was arrested near the White House on Sunday after authorities said he had an arsenal of weapons in his vehicle and stated he had a chip implanted in his head.

DC police said an officer suspected 37-year-old Timothy Joseph Bates of Collierville, Tennessee of urinating in public near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue at about 7:15 a.m. since he had his pants unzipped and Bates' demeanor.

When the officer approached Bates to speak with him, officials said Bates stated that he was "blackjacked" in the head when he was with the Memphis Police Department, implanted with a chip in his head and offered $28.7 million by the Department of Homeland Security and the state of Tennessee to participate in the "MK Ultra" project, which he claimed was managed by the C.I.A.

Authorities said Bates told officers he drove through the night to speak with U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis about having the chip removed from his head. Police said Bates gave officers permission to search his vehicle and said they found three hard-gun cases in plain view.

According to court documents, authorities found nine guns, seven of which were loaded, including a machine gun, two assault rifles and four pistols. In addition to the guns, police said they found several rounds of ammunition, three knives longer than 3 inches, a set of brass knuckles and a blackjack.

Bates served with the Memphis Police Department from 2000 to 2013 and "medically retired," according to court records. Documents state Bates was involuntarily committed for mental health reasons in Tennessee in February and was involved in a second incident in July where he was observed behaving erratically by law enforcement.

Bates was taken for a mental observation before he was later taken to jail for processing. Prosecutors charged Bates with illegally carrying a rifle or shotgun. Bates was being held before his preliminary hearing set for Thursday and he faces a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000 if convicted.