NEW YORK - Actor Kiefer Sutherland, best known for his television role as a special agent, was arrested Thursday on charges that he head-butted a fashion designer at a Manhattan party.

"He was arrested on a misdemeanor assault charge," the duty officer at the New York Police Department told AFP.

Sutherland, famous as the fearless agent Jack Bauer in the blockbuster television series "24," surrendered to police at a Manhattan station.

The 42-year-old actor was not jailed and remains free prior to a court appearance, the duty officer said. The date of that hearing was not immediately known.

Sutherland allegedly head-butted Jack McCullough, a fashion designer, at a nightclub on Monday, following a glamorous event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. McCullough alleges the blow cut his face.

According to unconfirmed newspaper accounts, Sutherland assaulted the designer after McCullough bumped into actress and model Brooke Shields.

Sutherland's legal situation may be complicated by the fact that he is currently on probation for drunk driving. He spent 48 days in jail after that arrest in 2007.