Man brawls with four Yuba City police officers

A man attempted to gouge out the eyes of a Yuba City police officer Saturday, after a call for suspicious behavior turned into a five-person brawl with law enforcement, authorities said.

William A. Hibbens, 43, was arrested at 10:17 a.m on the 1400 block of Crescent Court after fighting four Yuba City police officers. He was hit with a stun gun twice, but still managed to take down all four officers before being subdued.

"It was a pretty good brawl that had them all on the ground," police Sgt. Brian Bernardis said.

Only one of the officers was injured in the fight, when Hibbens attempted to gouge the officer's eyes out with his bare hands, Bernardis said.

The wounded officer was taken to the hospital. Bernardis said the officer will be fine.

Hibbens was also taken to the hospital, even though he came out of the fight relatively unscathed, police said.

He was arrested on suspicion of resisting an executive officer, being a felon in possession of a firearm, violating probation, and domestic violence.

The fight began shortly after police responded to a call from family and friends regarding Hibbens' odd behavior. According to Bernardis, friends of Hibbens said they saw him consuming large quantities of alcohol and were suspicious that other substances might have been involved.

Following a brief investigation at Hibbens' home, police learned of a domestic violence incident that had occurred earlier that day, Bernardis said. They also learned from a family friend that Hibbens might be hiding a gun in his car, a felony violation.

Officers tried talking to Hibbens in the house, when the resident became "confrontational," Bernardis said, at which point Hibbens took a fighting stance.

"He then said something to the effect of 'Let's get it on'," Bernardis said.

One of the officers shot Hibbens with a stun gun, but it had little affect, Bernardis said. Hibbens pulled the darts out of his chest, and the fight began.

After the arrest, officers searched Hibbens' truck and found a .22-caliber revolver, police said.

CONTACT Griffin Rogers at grogers@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4783. Find him on Facebook at /ADgriffinrogers or on Twitter at @ADgriffinrogers.