REVERE, Mass. >> A suburban Boston fire captain who brandished a golf club in a fight with trick-or-treating children on Halloween has been suspended with pay.

Forty-four-year-old Carl Holmberg pleaded not guilty Monday to charges including assault and battery on a child with injury.

Prosecutors say the Revere fire captain hit an 11-year-old boy and two 14-year-olds with the golf club. None of the kids was seriously hurt.

Holmberg’s attorney says it was self-defense.

Police say the boys told responding officers Holmberg yelled at them for cutting through yards and confronted them with the golf club. Police say Holmberg smelled of alcohol.

Police say Holmberg told investigators he was trick-or-treating with his wife and son when he saw the boys causing a disturbance. He says he confronted the boys but then feared for his and his family’s safety.