GREENWICH (AP) — A former officer for the Greenwich Police Department has been sentenced to six months in prison on charges that he acquired guns and transferred them to a known felon.

Joseph Ryan, who retired as a sergeant in July 2019, apologized as he was sentenced Thursday in federal court in New Haven.

“I'm very sorry for my behavior. I've disgraced myself and my family,” Ryan, 58, said in comments reported by Hearst Connecticut Media.

In April 2019, Ryan acquired guns from the Ansonia police department that he later gave to his heroin dealer, who also was a convicted felon, according to court papers. He was not acting in his capacity as a police officer when he obtained the guns, officials said.

Judge Jeffrey Meyer told Ryan he made an unmistakably criminal decision.

“You had to know these guns would go to no good use. And you didn’t care," he said. "It’s chilling, frankly, and it was an abuse of your police position, and reckless disregard for the law.”

A defense attorney, Phil Russell, said Ryan had an inability to control addictions and made a terrible mistake. He said Ryan was introduced to opiates after shoulder surgery in 2012 and was a heroin addict for years while working as a police officer.

Ryan pleaded guilty to one count of possession of firearms by an unlawful user of a controlled substance in April.