Overview
- Police identified the victim as Jeffrey Smith, 77, who was taken by ambulance to Cape Cod Hospital with head and facial injuries and is now on concussion precautions.
- Peter Afouxenides, 61, of Arlington, was arrested near the scene and charged with assault and battery on a person over 60, according to Barnstable police and court records.
- A police report and witness accounts say the driver stopped, exited a blue Toyota SUV, and punched Smith multiple times after claiming a cardboard sign touched his vehicle.
- An officer wrote that the sign appeared unlikely to damage a car, and reported finding Smith dazed in the roadway before bystanders helped move him to safety.
- Barnstable police were monitoring the large Hyannis protest near the Airport Rotary, where organizers estimated about 4,000 participants and later condemned the violence while collecting well-wishes for Smith.