Herschel Walker Scolded for Flashing 'Prop' Police Badge During Georgia Senate Debate

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Herschel Walker was called out on Friday for pulling out a "prop" police badge during his Georgia Senate Debate with Dem. Raphael Warnock.

The retired NFL player, 60, who won the Georgia Republican Senate primary in May, was responding to his opponent calling out several past instances in which Walker has lied about working in law enforcement.

"One thing I have not done, I've never pretended to be a police officer," Warnock said in a clip from the debate. "And I've never threatened a shootout with the police."

Walker then reached into his coat, responding: "And now, I have to respond to that. No, no, no, I have to respond to that. It's so funny, I am work with many police officers. [sic]"

He pulled a badge out of his pocket and attempted to continue his rebuttal as moderator Tina Tyus-Shaw regained control of the debate. "Mr. Walker, you are very well aware of the rules tonight, and you have a prop. That is not allowed, sir. I ask you to put that prop away," she told him.

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"Well, it's not a prop. This is real. And he said I have a prop and I never went into law enforcement ... he brought up the truth, let's talk about the truth," Walker continued talking over Tyus-Shaw, before she turned the debate over to a commercial break.

A rep for Walker did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Walker appeared to be flashing an "honorary deputy" badge from the Cobb County Police Department, which a local prosecutor said is a meaningless title, telling The Atlanta Journal-Constitution it's like having "a junior ranger badge."

The outlet referenced at least three instances of Walker lying about being in law enforcement, including in 2019, when he falsely claimed he "spent time at Quantico at the FBI training school."

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In 2001, police officers in Irving, Texas said Walker "talked about having a shoot-out with police" when they came to his home, responding to a call from his therapist that he was "volatile," armed and threatening his estranged wife, according to the Associated Press.

Walker has been widely accused of spouting lies as he made his foray into politics, such as his claims that he graduated from college, is part Cherokee and had a COVID-killing spray before vaccines rolled out. Most notably, he's been called into question about lies about how many children he's fathered and whether he's paid for women to have abortions.

He has repeatedly defended his statements.

A representative for the politician did not respond to PEOPLE's previous requests for comment on the claims he has made.