Richie Incognito Claimed to Be NSA Agent During Gym Incident, Cops Say

Richie Incognito was suffering an "altered, paranoid state" when confronted by police at a Florida gym ... "and believed ordinary citizens were government officials that were tracking him."

That's just one part of the disturbing police report describing the bizarre events at Lifetime Fitness in Boca Raton, Florida on May 23.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... cops were called to the gym when another patron said the NFL lineman snapped and attacked him with a dumbbell.

When cops arrived, they asked Incognito what was going on and his answer was troubling.

"There's a guy walking around with headphones on," Incognito said ... "I'm running NSA class level 3 documents through my phone. I can't have anybody in blue tooth capability of me or taking pictures of me."

The officer says he asked Incognito why the government was trying to watch him and Richie told the cop he didn't have high enough clearance.

When pressed by officers, Incognito told a nearby woman to call the FBI.

Cops ultimately decided to detain Incognito for an involuntary psychiatric hold -- but, due to his large frame, they decided to cuff him in two sets of handcuffs linked together.

He was transported to a nearby mental health facility for evaluation.