WASHINGTON -- A former Memphis police officer was arrested across the street from the White House Sunday when police found 20 guns in the trunk of his car, including AK-47 style rifles and weapons with sound suppressors, according to a Metro D.C. police report.

Police took Bates for psychiatric observation

Timothy Joseph Bates,37, of Collierville, Tenn. talked about getting help to remove a chip implanted in his head, according to a police report. Officers took him to an emergency psychiatric services center for observation, then to a police station for processing, according to the report.

Bates is still in custody

Defense attorney Lisbeth Sapirstein of Washington is representing Bates in the case. Reached Monday night, she said she couldn't comment in detail, but said Bates is still detained and his next hearing is Thursday.

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.

Efforts to reach family members were not immediately successful Monday.

The arrest

Bates was arrested around 7:15 a.m. 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 approached the suspect, who reported that 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 license plates. Officers noticed the FOP plates and asked Bates if he had any weapons, to which he replied yes.

Police found three gun cases in plain view. 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.

History with the Memphis police department

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.

Retiring young

Records related to Bates' city service and pension were not yet available Monday. At retirement in 2013, Bates would have been around 33 years old.

In two recent high-profile cases, though, young Memphis police officers have retired on disability pensions.

The city pension board granted former Memphis Police Officer Timothy Goodwin a disability pension last year for post-traumatic stress disorder following a deadly shootout that killed fellow officer Martoiya Lang. Goodwin was 34 when the pension was approved. He had faced scrutiny from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation related to inconsistencies in officers' statements about what happened immediately after Lang was shot in 2012.

During a trial related to the case this year, Goodwin invoked his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination.

And Connor Schilling, the police officer who fatally shot 19-year-old Darrius Stewart during a highly disputed incident in 2015, likewise retired on disability last year.

The police department said Schilling violated the department’s policy regarding handcuffing techniques and radio procedures the night of the shooting. His disability retirement, on grounds of post-traumatic stress disorder, stopped the internal investigation and prevented him from facing internal discipline. When the pension board approved his retirement, Schilling was 27.

A civil lawsuit related to the death of Stewart is ongoing.

Reach reporter Daniel Connolly at 529-5296, daniel.connolly@commercialappeal.com, or on Twitter at @danielconnolly.