New York City prosecutor is accused of choking woman at a bar
A New York City prosecutor has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from an incident at a bar in which he allegedly choked a woman.
Eli Cherkasky, 35, was charged with misdemeanor assault, obstruction of breathing, menacing and harassment, report the New York Times and the New York Daily News. Police say the confrontation began when Cherkasky picked up the woman’s belongings without permission, according to a story by the New York Post.
Cherkasky is accused of screaming obscenities at the woman, pushing her onto a couch and then the floor, and choking her. The woman was treated at a hospital.
Cherkasky’s lawyer, Paul Shechtman, told the Times he is “confident the charges are unfounded” based on discussions with his client and witnesses. Cherkasky’s father, Michael Cherkasky, a former top aide in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, told the Times there is no relationship between his son and the alleged victim.
“I think the good news is there’s a tape,” the elder Cherkasky told the Times, “and there are always two sides to this stuff.”
