Attorney claims self-defense in downtown Cincinnati assault case

By Karin Johnson

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    CINCINNATI (WLWT) — Alex Tchervinski, identified as both a victim and a suspect in last month’s downtown assault, is charged with disorderly conduct, a minor misdemeanor, and his attorney claims he acted in self-defense.

His arraignment was scheduled for Tuesday, but instead of appearing in court, his attorney, Doug Brannon, entered a written plea of not guilty.

Brannon spoke about the events of July 26, Tchervinski’s injuries, and his dispute with the city solicitor over transparency.

Tchervinski, 45, is seen in footage on the ground being punched and kicked. He’s been identified as one of the six victims in the assault.

He is also a defendant charged with disorderly conduct. In videos circulating online, Tchervinski can be seen slapping another man. It remains unclear if the slap led to the charge. Since it’s a misdemeanor charge, the city solicitor is prosecuting the case against Tchervinski.

“I am not aware of what basis they made the disorderly conduct charge,” Brannon said. “It’s not been explained to me by any prosecutor or any filing made by the prosecutor. So I’m very interested to learn from them why they felt it necessary to bring this charge under these circumstances.”

Brannon maintains that Tchervinski was acting in self-defense and should not be charged.

“Alex himself sustained over 28 blows to his head, face area. He was brutally beaten in this instance,” Brannon said. “I think he is being victimized now for a second time. He was not only brutally beaten and robbed during the assault, he’s now being prosecuted when he was attempting to defend himself and his friends.”

Leaders in the Black community, including Rep. Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati), feel a disorderly conduct charge is insufficient.

“An assault is an assault. When you put your hands on someone and use force, you have assaulted that individual and that was an assault,” Thomas said. “Disorderly conduct is a slap in my face.”

Both sides agree there is a lack of transparency from city leaders.

The city solicitor prosecuting Tchervinski’s case is attempting to have his citation sealed.

“I can’t explain why the city brings a charge and wants to try and conceal it at the same time,” Brannon said. “I think this is something that needs to be aired to the public. The public needs to see what’s going on and how wrong this prosecution is.”

Not all videos from the assault have been made public.

“It’s mind-boggling for us to have to get drips of this as we go along. The city should be just as transparent as everybody else involved,” Thomas said. “We need to move from this, and the only way we can is we need to allow the people to understand exactly what happened here, and then we begin a process of healing. We can’t do that with this drip faucet of information coming out.”

When asked why Tchervinski’s citation wasn’t being released, a city spokesperson responded that they are trying to comply with Marsy’s Law, which was created to protect victims, not defendants.

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