The homeless man who allegedly shoved an off-duty NYPD cop onto Manhattan subway tracks late Tuesday is a career criminal who was recently cut loose on supervision after randomly slugging someone else on the rails, cops and prosecutors said.
Aaron Walker, 28 – who has 18 prior arrests – had only been out of cuffs for two days when cops say he hurled the 24-year-old officer onto the downtown roadbed at the Third Avenue L station in the East Village shortly before 7:30 p.m., sending him to the hospital.
Walker was picked up by police a short time later and now faces a top charge of attempted murder, authorities said.
His arrest came on the heels of a Saturday arrest for a local law violation, after officers spotted him smoking a cigarette on board a train at Bedford Avenue and North 7th Street in Williamsburg, authorities said.
Once he was taken into custody for that offense, police realized he was wanted for another apparently unprovoked assault in transit, cops said.
In that case, he allegedly sat down next to a 22-year-old man on board a C train at Fulton Street and Kingston Avenue the afternoon of Sept. 13 and punched him numerous times in the face and head, police said.
That victim – a stranger to Walker – was hospitalized in stable condition.
The top charge in that case was third-degree assault – a misdemeanor that is not bail-eligible, and he was granted supervised release during his Sunday arraignment, the Brooklyn DA’s Office said.
He was also charged with third-degree attempted assault and second-degree harassment, according to the criminal complaint.
Walker was also arrested on Sept. 17 for allegedly stealing three clothing items and one home decor item from Target on Greenwich Street near Park Place in Tribeca, according to the court doc.
He was charged with petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, and released on his own recognizance during his arraignment, over prosecutors’ request for supervised release, the Manhattan DA’s Office said.
Walker was previously arrested on Aug. 29 for allegedly snatching up several items – including vinyl records – from a Barnes & Noble store on East 17th Street near Park Avenue South near Union Square, according to the criminal complaint.
He was charged with third-degree burglary and granted supervised release, as requested by prosecutors.
In a similar case on July 23, Walker allegedly stole eight vinyl records worth about $300 from a Barnes & Noble on Atlantic Avenue near Clinton Street in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, according to that court doc.
He was arrested in August and also cut loose on supervision because the charges — third-degree burglary, attempted assault and harassment — were not eligible for bail, prosecutors said.
Both Brooklyn and Manhattan prosecutors say Walker was in violation of a signed trespass notice issued in December of 2022, which revokes his privileges to enter any of the bookstore chain’s locations.
Walker was awaiting arraignment Wednesday in connection to the assault on the off-duty cop, who sources say was heading home from working the United Nations General Assembly security detail.
The officer was walking on the southbound platform when Walker allegedly punched him in the back of the head, grabbed him by his shirt and hurled him onto the southbound tracks, sources said.
Walker also fell onto the tracks during the scuffle, before the two men managed to hoist themselves back onto the platform and began fighting, the sources added.
The unhinged attacker then jumped onto the northbound tracks, running toward the 14th Street-Union Square station, according to the sources.
The victimized cop then called the 13th Precinct and requested additional units to respond to the scene, the sources said.
The responding officers, joined by their injured brother in blue, drove to the Union Square station, where they found Walker on board an uptown L train.
In addition to the attempted murder rap, Walker was also charged with attempted assault, attempted reckless endangerment, two counts of criminal trespassing, and two counts of disorderly conduct, police said.
