CHICOPEE, MASS. (WHDH) - A Holyoke man is facing drunken driving and assault charges after allegedly attacking Chicopee police officers after he was seen skidding in his car, police said.
William Rivas, 28, was arrested Saturday after officers spotted the vehicle he was driving skidding and hitting the curb before he stopped next to their patrol car. After his vehicle came to a rest, police said Rivas began “giving hand signals, like an umpire in baseball, motioning he was ‘safe.'”
When officers approached his car, police said Rivas told someone he was talking on the phone with that he had been drinking beer and that he had an open court case for operating a motor vehicle without a license. When Rivas said he would harm himself, the officers tried to pull him out of the car.
That’s when police say Rivas went on the attack, punching one of the officers in the face and violently resisting arrest.
Chicopee police said Rivas was tased and handcuffed. He has been charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle with a revoked license, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and four counts of assault and battery on a police officer.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)