NEW YORK - State Senator Luis Sepúlveda was arrested in the Bronx on Tuesday morning after being accused of choking his wife during an altercation that took place over the weekend, police officials said.

Sepúlveda, a Democrat who represents parts of the Bronx, surrendered to police at the 48th precinct station house around 11 a.m. this morning. He is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing.

According to the NYPD, police responded to the couple's Daly Avenue residence in the West Farms section of the Bronx after Sepulveda's wife called 911 on Saturday shortly before 6 a.m. When police arrived, both Sepulveda and his wife claimed the other had assaulted them.

Senator Sepúlveda did not return a request for comment, but he issued a statement through his lawyer Marvin Ray Raskin who confirmed the Senator is awaiting arraignment in the Bronx.

"Mr. Sepúlveda has been the victim of recurring physical violence by his estranged spouse for approximately nine years, a situation he has endured because of the young child they share together," Raskin said in a statement. "This false accusation is a calculated attempt by a disgruntled party to leverage a divorce settlement from a case she filed in Florida this past November."

Reaction from the state's top Democrats was swift and some lawmakers have called for his resignation.

State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said Senator Sepúlveda would be removed as chairman of the Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee and stripped of all committee assignments.

"I take these allegations extremely seriously and will be monitoring this situation closely," Stewart-Cousins said in a statement.

State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt said if the allegations are true, Sepúlveda should step down from office.

"As Chair of the Crime Victims, Crime & Correction Committee, Senator Sepúlveda has an obligation to protect vulnerable individuals," Ortt said in a statement. "As an alleged abuser himself, he has no right leading that committee, and these allegations must be promptly investigated."

It's not the first time Sepúlveda is accused of domestic violence. In 2015, the Daily News reported his wife had requested an order of protection after an argument between the two turned violent. After that incident, both said the incident had never turned violent and the restraining order was never issued.

Sepúlveda was elected to the State Senate in 2018 after serving in the Assembly.