An 80-year-old Niagara-on-the-Lake man has been charged with assault after Garth Turner, a columnist for The Lake Report, was beaten and kicked by a motorist who objected to him walking along the shoulder of Centre Street.

The June 12 daylight attack left Turner, a 76-year-old former federal MP, Tory cabinet minister and longtime business journalist, with cuts and severe bruises, including a damaged right eye.

Vision in the eye is slowly returning, Turner said on Tuesday. He wrote about the incident in his column last week.

Niagara Regional Police did not issue any formal announcement regarding the charges and declined to answer several questions from The Lake Report on Wednesday.

However, a police spokesperson stated that Alfred Landoni has been charged with one count of assault.

The police refused to answer several specific questions, including where the accused lives, though The Lake Report has learned that the man’s home is not far from where the incident occurred.

“While we appreciate the interest in this matter, the Niagara Regional Police Service does not routinely issue media releases in relation to minor assault investigations,” the spokesperson said in an email.

“Decisions regarding the release of information are made on a case-by-case basis and take into account a number of factors including privacy considerations and the nature of the incident,” he said.

“The incident was investigated and appropriate action was taken based on the information gathered by investigators,” the police statement said.

However, information about charges like assault and the court proceedings involving such cases are generally considered public information and usually are available to the media.

The police did not answer further questions about their reasons for refusing to divulge more details about the case.