Police in Yuba City, Calif., are investigating after a police officer was caught on camera punching a 59-year-old man.
The cellphone video shows police restraining Ronald Ybarra against a vehicle, before punching him and pushing him to the ground.
When he falls to the ground, something falls out of his hand.
A man in the video is heard saying, “He’s got his gun.”
It’s not clear what came before the punch, but some witnesses said they saw Ybarra hit the officer.
“The guy laid the biggest punch on this poor cop — came out of nowhere and then there was a scuffle. So the cop did what anybody would do,” an anonymous witness told Fox News.
Ybarra’s wife said he doesn’t own a gun.
“It made me sick to my stomach. It just upset me,” Kathi Ybarra told NBC affiliate KCRA after watching the video footage. “It clearly looked like he was the one assaulted — not the other way around.”
She also disputed the fact that Ybarra hit the officer arresting him.
“If he would have attacked a police officer like they’re claiming, you know, I think they would have shot him,” Kathi said. “And I think they would have charged him with assaulting a police officer, not just resisting arrest.”
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Ybarra was in the Taco Bell parking lot at around 1:30 p.m. on Monday because he was confronting someone who Ybarra claimed had robbed him.
Witnesses described a fight between Ybarra and another man before police arrived.
Yuba City Police Lt. Jim Runyen said officials are reviewing the footage, along with body cam footage.
“Use of force is something we take very seriously and review to make sure it’s within department policy,” Runyen told KCRA.
Ybarra was arrested and charged with resisting arrest.
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