CHATHAM -- A borough police officer accused of holding a gun to a security guard's head and threatening "to blow his (expletive) head off" failed to properly record the incident and report it to his superiors, new records show, sparking charges of a cover up.

Officer Roy George

In a letter dated April 7 obtained by NJ Advance Media, Chatham Police Capt. Brian Gibbons said internal investigators had also determined that the officer, Roy George, had used "discourteous conduct," but that he was not intoxicated and did not use excessive force.

The letter comes after a prior disclosure that George, the borough's traffic safety officer, had been demoted and suspended for an undisclosed number of days after he left his fully loaded, .45-caliber handgun and police credentials on a Westfield lawn in October 2009 after a night of drinking.

The findings only fueled a brewing legal showdown between the department and the security guard, Joseph Kearney Jr., who notified the borough last year that he intended to file an excessive force lawsuit over the 2015 incident in front of the Bank of America on Main Street.

Though no lawsuit has been filed yet, an attorney for Kearney, Matthew Adams, said George's "efforts to evade detection of the incident, coupled with his serious disciplinary history, raise significant questions about his fitness for duty."

"Officer George's now confirmed failures to adhere to basic police protocols and practices regarding his interactions with Mr. Kearney raise obvious questions about what he was trying to hide and why," Adams said.

Police Chief Phillip Crosson declined comment, and Borough Administrator Robert Falzarano did not respond to a request for comment. The letter did not say what punishment George -- who joined the force in 2002 and earns $126,953 annually, borough records show -- might face.

The letter also did not go into detail about the offenses or exactly how George violated the borough's policies on video recordings and reporting requirements. While those offenses are often considered minor, they can have a big impact when someone alleges misconduct.

On Dec. 15, 2015, Kearney was reporting for his shift as an armed private security officer at the bank when a passerby called 911 to report a man in "military black fatigues combo camo stuff" carrying a handgun outside the bank. The caller said he suspected the person was legitimate.

Adams said his client was wearing his standard security guard uniform and duty rig, which included a handgun holstered to his hip.

When George arrived at the scene, he ordered Kearney to freeze and drop to his knees before he put the barrel of the gun against Kearney's head and threatened him. Adams has said Kearney complied with every order and did not make any threatening movements.

During this incident, Kearney alleges he detected the smell of alcohol on George's breath.

In his notice to the borough that he intended to file a lawsuit, Kearney said other Chatham police officers at the scene apologized to him for George's conduct. He also said the other officers made comments that George "marches to the beat of his own drummer."

Kearney was not charged in connection with the incident, but Adams has said he was extremely shaken. Kearney, a veteran of the Vietnam War, retired as a senior corrections officer for Union County in 2014 and still works as a licensed private security officer.

Borough police have previously said the incident was being investigated by the Morris County Prosecutor's Office, but the case stalled as authorities did not interview Kearney until July 25, more than seven months after the incident. Another witness, a Hudson County police officer on the phone with George at the time of the incident, wasn't interviewed until nearly a year later.

A source familiar with the investigation said no charges were filed against George by the prosecutor's office and the case was never submitted to a grand jury. A spokesman for the prosecutor's office declined comment.

Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.