New Jersey – A heated conversation between a few men at a local pub ended with police being called when one of them flashed a gun tucked into his waistband.

The man who flashed the gun was Michael Mulhern, an off-duty Eastampton Township police officer who “became irate” after some high school classmates said they hadn’t been doing much since they graduated, documents show.

Mulhern told the men “since they were doing nothing, he served three tours of duty in Iraq fighting for their freedom,” according to a police report about the incident, which went down at a P.J. Whelihan’s in Medford Lakes in May 2014.

The men then asked if Mulhern was still in law enforcement, and he showed them his badge and told them he was a cop. They asked Mulhern if he was a cop in Medford, and he replied that he was not. While saying this, Mulhern pulled up his shirt, revealing a gun in his waistband, the police report says.

The men called police and Mulhern left the bar. No criminal charges were filed in the incident, though “the matter was handled administratively,” according to a memo from this year from Eastampton Chief Joseph Iacovitti. He did not respond to an email requesting further comment.

Details of the incident were first posted on a blog run by open government advocate John Paff.

Mulhern remains on the force and is paid $89,499. In 2016, he was named “Officer of the Year,” and was recognized as a “shining example for all police officers.”

Source: http://www.nj.com/burlington/index.ssf/2018/05/cop_hailed_as_shining_example_once_flashed_gun_at.html