SALEM - An 11-month-old baby was injured Monday afternoon when his father, high on drugs, decided to go after a skateboarder who had accidentally knocked a cigarette from his hand, police said.

When Michael Clemons, 26, went chasing after the skateboarder, he tripped over the stroller, knocking the baby to the sidewalk, police said. The boy suffered a cut over his eye.

Clemons left the injured baby lying on the sidewalk, police said, as he chased after the skateboarder. A driver passing by stopped to help the child.

Now Clemons, of 32 Perkins St., Salem, is facing charges of permitting injury to a child and possession of methadone and was ordered held yesterday on $5,000 cash bail by a Salem District Court judge.

It was shortly before 3 p.m. when Salem police began receiving a series of 911 calls from witnesses on the North Street overpass, near the MBTA station in downtown Salem. At least half a dozen witnesses stopped to help.

The first was a woman who had pulled over to help the child. Several others called police, Lt. Conrad Prosniewski said. Some at first thought the woman who had stopped to help was the child's mother, but police said the child's mother had been arrested on a warrant.

"You're going to pay," Clemons allegedly yelled to the skateboarder.

When Patrolman Mark Fabiszewski showed up, he suspected that Clemons was under the influence of drugs - his pupils were dilated and he was slurring and stumbling and seemed incoherent at times, the officer noted.

During booking at the police station, officers found four methadone tablets on Clemons, who did not have a prescription for the synthetic narcotic, most commonly used to treat heroin addiction.

Clemons does not have legal custody of the child - custody was awarded to his sister - but he does have visitation privileges. The sister later told police that Clemons seemed fine when he picked up the baby on Monday morning, Prosniewski said.

Clemons told police he was on his way to catch a train to Cape Cod, where the child's mother had been sent after her arrest on a warrant from Barnstable District Court.

In court yesterday, he told his lawyer that he was on his way to Salem District Court to visit his probation officer from other cases.

An agitated Clemons told Judge Joseph Jennings, "Your honor, how does the baby fall out when he's buckled in?"

When court officers started to move him out of the courtroom, Clemons yelled out, "What a crock of (expletive)." He continued yelling as he was led downstairs.

Prosniewski said it did not appear to police that Clemons would have had the awareness to remember to strap the child into the stroller.

Police filed a report of suspected abuse with the Department of Social Services, which had a representative in court yesterday.

Clemons is due back in court on Aug. 24.