Dorchester man found guilty of assaulting woman who didn’t say ‘good morning’

A Dorchester man was sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of assaulting a woman because she didn’t say: ‘Good morningto him, officials said.

Ian Atkinson, 34, was found guilty in Suffolk Superior Court on Monday of assault and battery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He will serve two years in state prison, followed by two years of probation, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.

In July last year, Atkinson was walking past a woman watering her plants on Balsam Street in Dorchester when he called her and said, “When people say good morning to you, you should say hello, you crazy (expletive),” the prosecutor said . .

Prosecutors said Atkinson then punched her repeatedly in the face and threw her against a fence. He also drove towards her with his black Mercedes and almost hit her.

“For this victim, a pleasant summer morning turned into a violent and brutal ordeal for the most inexplicable of reasons,” Hayden said in a statement.

The woman was recording the encounter and Atkinson only stopped attacking when she bit him. As he drove away, the woman was able to take down his license plate number, officials previously said.

She was taken to hospital with a broken nose, bruises on her head and face and bleeding in her left eye.

“Even as she was being attacked, she had the presence of mind to record video, and that decision, along with her courageous testimony, provided enough evidence for the judge to make his decision,” Hayden said. “I join all members of the community in thanking this survivor for her courage.”

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Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, covering education, politics, crime and more.

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