ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando's fire chief, a veteran first responder and administrator, was suspended with pay after he was accused of punching a woman in the face in North Carolina on Saturday, officials confirmed Monday.

According to the Orlando Fire Department, the acting fire chief will be Deputy Fire Chief Craig Buckley, the Orlando Fire Department said in a statement.

'We have been made aware of a misdemeanor arrest warrant involving Fire Chief Benjamin Barksdale in the state of North Carolina," the statement said.

Barksdale, 56, has been Orlando’s fire chief for less than two years.

Barksdale faces two charges: assault and battery and assault on a female, authorities said. The Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Department in North Carolina investigated the incident.

Orlando Fire Chief Benjamin Barksdale (File)

Charlotte-Mecklenberg police released two records to Spectrum News on Monday. Both only provide summaries in which authorities reported that Barksdale is accused of intentionally attacking a woman by "punching the victim in the face." No details were provided.

Attempts to contact the person Barksdale is suspected of striking were not successful Monday.

It is unclear why Barksdale was in North Carolina.

Barksdale replaced a fire chief who resigned after he was accused of harassing and discriminating against a female employee. In September 2019, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer announced Barksdale's appointment as Orlando fire chief effective, Nov. 15, 2019.

"Under Chief Barksdale’s tenure at his current agency, he has shown a strong commitment to ensuring firefighters have access to mental health programs and treatment. Additionally, he comes from a diverse department where women and minorities hold prominent roles,” Dyer said in a September 2019 statement.

Barksdale inherited a department rocked by gender discrimination and sexual harassment allegations under former Orlando Fire Chief Roderick Williams, who resigned in February 2019.

The U.S. Justice Department announced in March it reached a settlement with the City of Orlando resolving allegations the city violated federal law when it discriminated and retaliated against Dawn Sumter, a female assistant fire chief with OFD.

Sumter said she was sexually harassed by the former fire chief and then faced retaliation from fire department leaders for complaining about discrimination and harassment.

In announcing Barksdale’s appointment, Dyer touted Barksdale’s 32 years of experience.

He began his firefighting career in 1987 with the Arlington County Fire Department in Virginia, where he rose to the rank of assistant chief, city officials stated in the 2019 statement.

“Chief Barksdale was also one of the initial responders at the Pentagon in response to the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001,” the 2019 statement noted.

He came to Orlando from Prince George’s County, Maryland. As fire chief there, Barksdale ran one of the largest combination municipal fire and emergency medical services departments in the United States.