A May jury trial has been scheduled for a former firefighter who is charged with battery after he smashed a pint glass in the face of an assailant at a downtown Coeur d’Alene bar.

Mark O. Leroy, 63, a retired Issaquah, Wash., firefighter who lives in Coeur d’Alene, pleaded not guilty this week in First District Magistrate Court to the misdemeanor charge.

Police said Leroy was drinking Sunday inside The Beacon tavern at 325 E. Sherman Ave. when he and a man, 30-year-old Brent Westgarth, argued and Leroy pushed Westgarth to the ground. That started a fight between Leroy and another man, 34-year-old Daryl Reynold.

According to reports, Reynold jumped Leroy from behind and clinched him in a headlock, which prompted Leroy to grab a pint glass and smash it behind him, striking Reynold in the forehead, leaving a deep gash.

When police arrived, Reynold “was sitting in a stool with blood dripping down his face,” according to a police report.

Reynold told police he wanted to press charges against Leroy, who had left the pub with two women.

When police caught up to Leroy at his residence before midnight on the 200 block of north Second Street, he told officers that Westgarth was “eyeballing him” the whole night. Leroy offered to buy him a drink to diffuse the situation, but Westgarth refused, Leroy said. An argument ensued after the 30-year-old cussed at Leroy and asked him to step outside, Leroy said.

Leroy pushed Westgarth with one hand, and Reynold jumped Leroy from behind and put him in a headlock, Leroy said.

Surveillance footage showed Leroy being grabbed from behind when he swung a pint glass to escape the headlock. Once the glass smashed, the headlock was released and Leroy left the bar.

Leroy apologized to police for the incident but justified his actions as self defense.

“It was a really good choke hold,” Leroy said.

The choke hold may have injured his neck, he told police.

Judge James D. Stow said a no-contact order wasn’t necessary, and released Leroy from jail on his own recognizance.