Harvard police arrested a Dunster House senior near Claverly Hall on Sunday morning after a brief scuffle in which an officer was injured, police said yesterday.

Nicholas M. Spooner '90 was charged with assault and battery on a police officer and with disorderly conduct, said Harvard Police records manager Carl A. Tempesta.

Police said that at 6 a.m. Sunday, they received a report of a car vandalism in the Apley Court parking lot. When the first officer arrived, Spooner and two women were pushing a car, they said.

"The officer, who didn't know they were students, called for backup, and the individuals started to leave," Tempesta said. He said that when the officer told them to stop, Spooner "began yelling and screaming."

During a brief pushing match, an officer fell and injured his elbow, requiring four stiches to close the cut, Tempesta said. Harvard police then arrested Spooner and took him to the Cambridge police station.

Police reports of the altercation say Spooner "kept yelling" during the entire incident and emanated "a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage."

In an interview yesterday, Harvard police Chief Paul E. Johnson said the student's aggressiveness towards the officer was what got him in trouble. "He was only arrested because of his own belligerence," Johnson said.

Spooner could not be reached for comment.