Man who pushed subway passenger on to the tracks to his death is acquitted of murder

A man accused of pushing a stranger to his death by shoving him on to the tracks of a subway has been acquitted of murder.

Naeem Davis, 34, was cleared on Monday of murdering Ki-Suck Han, 58, after he shoved him on to the tracks at the 49th Street station near Times Square in New York on December 3, 2012.

Mr Davis said he was defending himself when he pushed Mr Han off the platform. At least a minute passed before a train pulled into the platform and it Mr Han, killing him.

The scene was captured by a photographer for the New York Post, who controversially put a picture showing Mr Han on the tracks, seconds before his death, on its front page.

Mr Davis said that Mr Han, who was drunk at the time, had picked a fight with him after the pair bumped into each other accidentally near the subway turnstiles.

A court heard that Mr Han then followed Mr Davis down to the platform, shouting obscenities at him – including death threats – and grabbing his shoulder.

Mr Davis said Mr Han shouted at him, ’I’ll kill you!’, and that he was slurring his words and staggering.

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The defendant said he responded by saying, ’I don’t know you, you don’t know me!’, before trying to walk away.

Video footage captured by a witness showed Mr Davis telling Mr Han to leave him alone.

Mr Davis said he only pushed Mr Han away after the 58-year-old tried to grab him first.

He described Mr Han falling ‘head first on to the tracks and rolling like a bowling ball’, the court heard.

It was at least 60 seconds before the train hit Mr Han. Witnesses tried to attract the driver’s attention but no one attempted to pull him up from the tracks.

The New York Post photographer who took the picture of Mr Han’s last moments said he was trying to alert the driver by flashing his camera.

Mr Davis admitted that he watched while Mr Han tried in vain to climb off the tracks, and that he ‘freaked’ and fled the scene.

He was charged with murder, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, and prosecutors claimed he had shown a ‘depraved indifference’ to Mr Han’s life, but he was acquitted on all charges after a three-week trial.

Mr Davis, of no fixed address, is a refugee from Sierra Leone who became a US citizen and did odd jobs for street vendors around Times Square.

He was released after being held in city jail for four-and-a-half years.