Crime & Safety

Newton Police: Watertown Man Assaulted Cyclist, Demanded 'Pledge' for Damage Repairs

The following information was supplied by the Newton Police Department. Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.

A 71-year-old Watertown man faces assault charges after he allegedly hit a cyclist in the face during a confrontation on Watertown Street. 

According to police reports, officers were dispatched to Watertown Street Saturday afternoon (Aug. 31) for reports of a bicycle striking a car. When police arrived on scene, they spoke with a man who had returned to his parking spot to find a cyclist picking up a bike off the side of his car. 

The driver told police he demanded the cyclist's phone number and address as well as a hand written pledge for the reparation for the damage to the vehicle.

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When the cyclist spoke with police, he told officers he came out of the Bank of America ATM on Watertown Street to find his bike had fallen over on to the car. As he was assessing the damage to the car, the driver reportedly came over demanding the cyclist's contact information as well as a written pledge demanding reparation to the vehicle or $100. 

The cyclist reportedly gave the driver his name and number and rode off, reports said. The driver, though, stopped the cyclist again demanding he sign the pledge. The cyclist declined again and told the driver to call him, as he would not give him money over "a little scratch" to the vehicle.

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According to the cyclist, the driver trapped the front wheel of the bicycle between his legs and held on to the handlebars as the cyclist attempted to leave. The driver reportedly said he would not release the bike until the cyclist signed the pledge. 

The driver then reportedly ripped the speedometer off the bike's handlebars and struck the cyclist in the face. 

A witness who was nearby came over to the scene to help out, reports said, and the witness' story fit the information provided by the cyclist. The cyclist also had a red mark on his face as well as a broken speedometer, police said.

Newton Police did not release the man's name, but filed a complaint against the driver for assault and battery and defacing property.


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