BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — A Bridgeport police officer who's also head of the city's minority officers' organization has been arrested and charged with assaulting another man following a traffic crash.

The chief tells the Connecticut Post that 30-year-old Officer Davon Polite was suspended without pay after he was charged last week with second-degree assault and second-degree breach of peace.

Authorities allege Polite dragged a 41-year-old man from his van then beat and kicked him after the man's van was involved in a collision with Polite's car last September.

Polite is a four-year veteran and head of a minority officers' group, The Guardians.

Polite's lawyer says his client acted in self-defense and said the charges are in retaliation for his work with The Guardians.

Polite is free on $500 bond pending arraignment March 29.