WESTPORT, Conn. – A 73-year-old Westport man was charged with driving under the influence early Tuesday morning after a police cruiser was backed into, police said.

An officer first spotted a car driving at a slow rate of speed along Bridge Street, swerving in and out of a lane, police said.

When Alan Sterling, of Sylvan Road South, was pulled over, the officer smelled alcohol on Sterling's breath and noticed that his speech was slow and slurred, police said. 

When the officer returned to his vehicle to run Sterling’s license, Sterling began backing up and struck and damaged the front bumper of the police cruiser, police said.

In addition to operating under the influence, Sterling was charged with unsafe backing, failure to drive in proper lane and failure to carry insurance card. He was held on a $500 bond and scheduled for arraignment later Wednesday morning.