Actor Alec Baldwin would "rather pay a fine" than apologise for allegedly bad-mouthing police officers in May.

The 56-year-old actor appeared in a Manhattan court Thursday in relation to a misconduct charge after he cursed at officers who stopped him for riding his bicycle down the wrong way on Fifth Avenue here earlier this year, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

During the conversation, Judge John Delury told the star: "Looks like you have a short fuse. You want to wait this out? Do you want to apologise?"

Baldwin responded by saying: "I'd rather pay the fine."

"Than apologise?" asked the judge.

To that, the actor replied: "I just want to pay the fine."

The judge then said he'd dismiss the charge if Baldwin can stay out of trouble for six months.

"Sure, sure," Baldwin said.

The "It's Complicated" star was given two summons, one for traffic violation and a second for disorderly conduct after he allegedly went "ballistic" at two female officers when they asked him to provide identification following his push bike incident.

The actor had taken to Twitter after his arrest two months ago to share his version of events.