LIVONIA, Mich. (WXYZ) - A Detroit Fire Department battalion chief has been placed on leave without pay after allegedly being involved in a road rage incident in Livonia.

Watch Whitney's story in the video player below:

Detroit fire battalion chief placed on unpaid leave after alleged road rage incident

The alleged victim, Todd Richards, says the encounter left him injured and shaken and that he wants the battalion chief to be held accountable.

The incident happened near Plymouth Rd. and Levan Rd. in Livonia.

Richards told 7 News Detroit he was riding his motorcycle when a vehicle rapidly approached him at a traffic light. Richards says the two had no exchange whatsoever and did not know each other prior to the incident.

WXYZ Todd Richards of Livonia, speaks to 7 News Detroit's Whitney Burney after he says he was assaulted in a road rage incident.

 I got to the light at Plymouth Road and Levan and all of a sudden a white Hyundai or Kia came behind me at a quick pace,  Richards said.  Rushed me as I was sitting on my motorcycle, rushed me, right into my space, threatening to harm me, to kill me, to beat me down into the cement in his words. 

According to court records, the driver was identified as off-duty Detroit Fire Battalion Chief Thomas Suchora.

Richards says in one motion Suchora struck him in the face, grabbed his glasses and smashed them on the ground before returning to his vehicle. Richards says when he pulled out his phone to get video of the suspect and a license plate, Suchora came back and grabbed his wrist.

 He was just in a rage. A total rage,  Richards said.  He took my thumb back down to my wrist, grabbed my phone out of my hand, screaming at me and threw my phone from the left-hand turn lane. 

Richards says he suffered a torn ligament in his thumb during the altercation. He is also seeking compensation for his damaged phone, which he says was worth approximately $1,200.

Todd Richards An image shows an injury Todd Richards says he sustained following an alleged road rage incident in Livonia.

Two independent witness accounts in a police report also back up Rich

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