Kiefer Sutherland may surrender to police today to answer assault charges filed by fashion designer Jack McCullough, who says the actor head-butted him at a nightclub in a Lower Manhattan hotel on Monday night.

The altercation allegedly happened  at an after-party for the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute gala, where Sutherland was spotted in a tuxedo.

McCullough, with a cut on his nose, told police that he was walking through a packed crowd at Submercer in the Mercer Hotel when he wiggled his way between Sutherland and Brooke Shields. Sutherland, who plays Jack Bauer on the hit show "24," was talking to the actress, and apparently felt that McCullough was invading their space. When Sutherland asked McCullough to give them some room, McCullough reportedly shot back with a smug answer that angered the star, known for having a drinking problem.

Sutherland, already on probation for a 2007 drunk-driving arrest, has not been arrested in this latest claim, but could face misdemeanor assault charges when he surrenders. Investigators also plan to speak to Shields for more details about the night. Officials said that McCullough refused medical treatment at the time he filed the complaint.