DULUTH, Minn.  — A police officer has been placed on administrative leave after he was arrested in Carlton County for allegedly punching his girlfriend in the face.

The accused officer is longtime member of the Superior Police Department in Wisconsin. Duluth police say the sergeant was arrested Sunday after the 32-year-old woman told authorities her boyfriend struck her while they were traveling on Interstate 35 between Cloquet and Scanion. The Duluth News Tribune says the woman got out of the vehicle after being assaulted and took a ride with a passing motorist.

Formal charges against the officer are pending.