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ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis police officer is accused of using a gun to stop his vehicle from being repossessed.

According to court documents, the incident happened on the evening of Saturday, April 4. Christopher Franklin was off-duty and in plain clothes as his vehicle was being repossessed outside an apartment building at 22nd and Washington in downtown St. Louis.

Franklin claimed he’d already contacted his bank to avoid the repossession and tried to stop the vehicle from being towed. However, when the person coordinating the repossession refused to comply with Franklin’s order to have the tow truck return with his vehicle, Franklin called up to his girlfriend to drop his gun from an apartment window.

She did and Franklin caught the gun and pointed the weapon at the victim as he ran to his own car.

The incident can be heard in the background of a phone recording. Franklin’s girlfriend admitted to dropping his gun down to him.

St. Louis police confirmed Franklin had been with the department for the past 6 years and had been placed under unpaid administrative suspension.

The apartments are located above an early childhood center, which was empty at the time of the incident.

Civil court records show Franklin has a history of financial issues.

The St. Louis Collector of Revenue has taken him to court four times since 2012 for unpaid personal property taxes. The two most recent cases remain unsettled with taxes and penalties of $703.70 owed for 2018 and $768.67 for 2017, according to court records.

The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged Franklin with one count of unlawful use of a weapon.

Franklin has yet to surrender on the weapons charge. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted. He did not respond to our request for comment from Fox2/News11 as of Wednesday night.