An East Boston dentist is accused of attacking an elderly cab driver, according to police.
Massachusetts State Police say they were called to Transportation Way at Logan Airport just after 9 a.m. Friday, after the driver, Charles Touroyan, was allegedly assaulted and punched in the face.
Dr. Nicholas Franco of the East Boston Dental Associates was arrested on assault charges Friday.
Touroyan, 86, told Boston 25 News that Franco got out of a silver Mercedes and walked toward the cab, pushed him to the ground and punched him several times.
“The guy came out and pushed me and hit me and I went down," Touroyan said. "I was shocked, I couldn’t get up. I tried to get up and couldn’t do it, and that’s all.”
Touroyan said his hat and glasses were torn off his head.
A witness took down the license plate number of the Mercedes, and troopers tracked it to Franco. When they showed up at his office to question him, police say he told them the cab cut him off.
A State Police report says Franco admitted grabbing the glasses "so that he could not see and would leave him alone."
The report states Franco said he then tried to leave, but the cab driver came after him, so he pushed him.
State Police reviewed surveillance video, which they say supports Touroyan’s side of the story.
Franco was arraigned on a charge of assault and battery on a person over 60 year old, and was released on personal recognizance.
Touroyan says he was checked out at the hospital, and he went back to work after X-rays showed he had no broken bones.
“They took me to the hospital to check me out and I’m OK," Touroyan said. "Nothing broken, but my son tells me in the morning I’m going to be sore.”
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