Dorchester man fractured woman’s nose for not saying ‘good morning’ to him, DA says

A Dorchester man is facing charges after allegedly attacking a woman and fracturing her nose for not saying “good morning” back to him.

Ian Atkinson, 33, will be the subject of a dangerousness hearing Tuesday, according to Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office. He was charged last week with assault and battery causing serious bodily injury and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, a car. Atkinson was ordered held without bail pending the hearing.

On July 13 at about 9 a.m., police were called to Balsam Street in Dorchester. The victim, a 59-year-old woman, told officers that she was watering her lawn when a man she did not know walked by her and cursed at her for not saying “good morning.”

The woman said she felt afraid because of his aggressive behavior, and therefore started filming him with her cellphone. The man, later identified as Atkinson, had gotten into a black Mercedes parked nearby. He then left the car and began punching the woman repeatedly, Hayden’s office said.

Police obtained footage from a home security camera that allegedly showed Atkinson punching the woman in the head at least seven times. The woman later told police she bit her attacker on the shoulder during the incident. Atkinson then returned to the Mercedes, shifted it into reverse, and swerved toward the woman before driving away, Hayden’s office said.

Although the woman was bleeding heavily from her nose, she was able to capture the license plate of the Mercedes on video. She also noticed that her attacker was wearing a GPS tracking device, officials said.

The woman was brought to Carney Hospital. There, doctors determined that she suffered a fractured nose and a subconjunctival hemorrhage to her left eye.

Atkinson’s address on Lucerne Street in Dorchester came up when police ran the license plate number in their system. Police matched Atkinson’s license photo with footage taken by the victim, who later identified his face in a photo array.

Police determined that Atkinson was indeed wearing a GPS tracking device at the time of the attack related to an existing assault and firearm possession case against him. Data from that tracker placed him at the scene of the attack when it occurred, Hayden’s office said.

“It’s difficult to comprehend the viciousness and randomness of such an attack, in this case on a stranger doing nothing more than watering her lawn. All over a perceived—and perhaps nonexistent—slight,” Hayden said in a statement. “But it isn’t difficult to admire the bravery and alertness of this victim, and her presence of mind not only to get crucial video of her attacker but also to notice that he was strapped with a GPS device.”

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