When Statum returned, the guard said he noticed a gun in his pocket or waistband. Concerned that Statum was impersonating an officer and might “shoot up the place,” the affidavit states, the club’s management became involved, and police were called.

Statum denied groping women in the club and said he wasn’t flashing his badge or claiming to be a part of the department’s Special Investigations Division, the affidavit states.

In regard to the gun, he reportedly said: “Here’s the deal. If I come down here, yeah I’m gonna have a piece on me … because I worry about people that I might have arrested,” according to the affidavit.

He also denied being drunk, but officers who responded reported that “it was clear (Statum) was intoxicated,” citing a smell of alcohol, reddish eyes and slurred speech.

The affidavit says Statum was handcuffed and taken to a patrol car but wasn’t arrested that night.

About four days after the incident, Statum, with his attorney present, told TPD investigators he always carries a gun for personal safety and did so even before he became a police officer. TPD hired him in May 2017.