A high ranking police officer allegedly had an altercation with police after he was found walking shirtless in Melbourne's east and behaving erratically, a source has claimed.

The incident involving Detective Inspector Darren Cooper in the early hours of Sunday morning is now the subject of an internal investigation by the Victoria Police Professional Standards Command.

A source has told The Age the inspector from the Eastern Region, who was off duty at the time, was put in the back of a divvy van to be taken home safely after he was seen behaving erratically and waving down traffic without a shirt on.

It is believed he had been attending a social sporting function earlier in the night.

It's understood Detective Inspector Cooper kicked the doors of the divvy van. He then phoned triple-0 from the back of the police van, the source said.