An Oahu grand jury today indicted former Major League Baseball player Bronson Sardinha on a charge of assaulting a police officer.

The charge is a class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison. State Circuit Judge Richard Perkins set Sardinha’s bail at $11,000.

Honolulu police say Sardinha, 32, headbutted a police officer Nov. 29 last year as the officer was arresting him outside Nancy’s Kitchen at Waipio Shopping Center. Police went there on a report of an argument between a male and a female.

There was an outstanding $500 bench warrant for Sardinha’s arrest at the time for failing to appear in Honolulu District Court in a petty misdemeanor harassment case.

Sardinha, 32, pleaded no contest to the harassment charge today and was granted a deferral of his plea. If he stays out of trouble for six months the charge will be dismissed. He must also perform 29 hours of community service.

In 2001, the New York Yankees drafted the Kamehameha Schools graduate in the first round, straight out of high school. They called him up to the majors briefly in 2007.