A former New London police officer was arrested today and charged with fraudulently collecting more than $50,000 in workers’ compensation benefits.

David McElroy, 55, of 63 Hayward Ave., Colchester, was arrested by inspectors from the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney and charged with one count of workers’ compensation fraud, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, McElroy underwent treatment from October 2013 to March 2014 for an injury he reported suffering in September 2013 while employed by the city of New London as a police officer.

Surveillance conducted by the city’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier showed McElroy doing carpentry work at his residence on numerous occasions while he was supposedly unable to work, the warrant states. He was paid more than $50,000 in workers’ compensation during the October-to-March time period, the warrant said.

McElroy was released on a $5,000 nonsurety bond and is scheduled to appear in New Haven Superior Court on Oct. 24.

The case is being prosecuted by the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Control Bureau in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney.

Chief Administrative Officer Laura Natusch said McElroy resigned from his job on Tuesday.

McElroy, the former vice president of the police union, was rehired in March after he was fired in December 2013 for allegedly leaking an internal police document about an alleged rape and lying about it.