A Bridgeport fire lieutenant has been placed on leave after allegations of racism surfaced.

Lieutenant John MacNicholl was placed on paid administrative leave after an alleged altercation with a superior officer who is Hispanic. The president of the Bridgeport Hispanic Firefighters Association says MacNicholl disobeyed orders and shoved Captain Ivan Fossesigurani at a fire scene last month. He claims this altercation happened because Fossesigurani is a minority.

The association president accuses MacNicholl of insubordination and of jeopardizing the safety of other firefighters by not following Fossesigurani's instructions as quickly as possible. Fossesigurani did file a report with police in which he says he was assaulted.

The fire chief's office says the matter is under investigation but would not comment further. News 12 Connecticut reached MacNicholl by phone, but he refused to comment on the matter.