MONROE, La. (AP) - Authorities in Louisiana are crediting a 3-year-old girl with trying to save her mother from being choked by her boyfriend, who happens to be a police officer for the city of Monroe.

An arrest report says the child threw tennis shoes at 25-year-old Jonathan McMillon as he tried to strangle her mother on March 18. The News-Star reports that McMillon blamed the woman when responding law enforcement saw her bruises, but changed his story slightly when presented with the child's testimony; he said he and the girl were playing "catch" with the shoes as he straddled her mother.

The woman has been given a protective order.

McMillon is charged with domestic abuse battery with strangulation. Police spokesman Reggie Brown says McMillon is on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation.