A male model from New Jersey charged with delivering a fatal blow to a Penn Station straphanger had his case dropped Thursday — after video surveillance backed his claim that he was acting in self defense, Manhattan prosecutors said.
The footage showed that suspect Nassadir Tate, 22, only slugged Eweka Johnson, 55, when Johnson first bumped into him and then raised his fists in a fighting motion on the uptown E train platform at Penn Station on March 14.
Tate tried walking around Johnson -— but Johnson appeared to inflame the situation by stepping into Tate’s path and putting up his dukes in an effort to fight, the video shows.
That’s when Tate — who describes himself as a “part-time model” and programmer on his LinkedIn — slugged Johnson one time in the face before leaving the scene and making a call, which was later verified to be a call to 911, according to prosecutors.
Just two minutes after the blow, Johnson’s knees buckled and he collapsed to the ground. He was later pronounced dead due to a ruptured cerebral artery aneurism caused by the fatal punch, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said at the hearing.
Tate was arrested and charged with assault over the scuffle.
He admitted to police that he punched Johnson one time in the face because he “feared for his physical safety,” prosecutors said — claiming that he believed they were about to fight.
A relative of Tate had told The Post at the time of the arrest that Tate was a “good kid” who “never found trouble.
“He’s not a troubled person. He’s not an instigator. He’s not a violent person,” the relative had said.
Tate’s attorney, Wayne Gosnell, did not immediately respond to request for comment.
