The actor, who declared he was leaving public life behind in a New York Magazine cover story in February, was issued two criminal summonses — one for the traffic offense and one for disorderly conduct — and was released before noon. Baldwin was stopped around 10:15 AM at the intersection of 16th Street and Fifth Avenue. He did not have proper identification on him and was placed under arrest and taken to the 13th Precinct station house where he could be properly identified.

Following his release, the Alec Baldwin Foundation tweeted, "Officer Moreno, badge number 23388, arrested me and handcuffed me for going the wrong way on Fifth Ave… Meanwhile, photographers outside my home ONCE AGAIN terrified my daughter and nearly hit her with a camera. The police did nothing… New York City is a mismanaged carnival of stupidity that is desperate for revenue and anxious to criminalize behavior once thought benign."

Baldwin, a Tony Award nominee for A Streetcar Named Desire, has been seen in Loot, Serious Money, Twentieth Century and Orphans. Click here to read about Baldwin's time in Orphans and his clash with actor Shia LaBeouf, who was dismissed from the production.