FedEx driver "Acted in Self-Defense" by punching racist who later died

[Floyd R. Turbo]

A FedEx delivery driver who punched a man hurling racial slurs at him will not face criminal charges after the man later died, officials announced Monday.

Timothy Warren’s punch played a role in the death of Joseph Magnuson but it was “a lawful act of self-defense,” ruled Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill this week.

The incident occured in Portland, Oregon, on September 26. Witnesses said Magnuson had “very aggressively” yelled at Warren to slow down while he was driving at around 5-20 MPH. Magnuson had also used racial slurs—including the n-word—at Warren, who is black, they noted.

The situation escalated further after Magnuson threw a drink, and possibly food, at Warren and attempted to strike him with his fist. Warren punched back, hitting Magnuson above the eye, causing him to fall and lose consciousness. One witness described the action as defensive. Warren did not continue to hit Magnusson and remained at the scene, officials said.

https://www.newsweek.com/oregon-fedex-driver-acted-self-defense-punching-racist-man-who-later-died-1226009

[AllyCat]

1. Very sad, but certainly sounds like self-defense.

Glad there were witnesses.

[olegramps]

11. Good thing it didn't happen in Fl, GA, Miss. He would be facing the death penality.

[dalton99a]

2. Lesson: Being a violent racist asshole can be hazardous to your health

Your victim may fight back

[marlakay]

4. He was lucky to be in Portland area

Where I bet better judges are or the victim would be in jail.

For once glad to hear it went the right way.

[Baitball Blogger]

8. My point exactly.

Lucky it happened, where it did.

[MissB]

9. Underhill (the DA) has never struck me as a

Democrat.

[appalachiablue]

18. #16.

[brush]

3. Note to racists: Consequences may occur.

[Baitball Blogger]

5. This happened in Oregon.

Had it happened in the South, who knows what the outcome would have been.

[cwydro]

6. But it didn't happen in the south, did it?

Everyday I read of these incidents happening in California, Oregon, Washington, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, etc.

Racists live everywhere. I’ll bet even in your state.

Just stop.

[Baitball Blogger]

7. Stop what?

I doubt Warren would have been able to avoid jail in a state that practiced institutional racism. They wouldn't have seen his side.

It was self defense by any objective person's viewpoint.

[obamanut2012]

14. You do know Oregon was founded as a white-only area, right?

Oregon is the poster child of US institutionalized racism. It was only slavery-free because the white founders hated blacks so much. And, it still is very, very racist -- that history lives on. Lots if the Charlottesville Nazis were from there.

"In December 1844, Oregon passed its Black Exclusion Law, which prohibited African Americans from entering the territory while simultaneously prohibiting slavery. Slave owners who brought their slaves with them were given three years before they were forced to free them. Any African Americans in the region after the law was passed were forced to leave, and those who did not comply were arrested and beaten. They received no less than twenty and no more than thirty-nine stripes across their bare back. If they still did not leave, this process could be repeated every six months.[70] Slavery played a major part in Oregon's history and even influenced its path to statehood. The territory's request for statehood was delayed several times, as members of Congress argued among themselves whether the territory should be admitted as a "free" or "slave" state. Eventually politicians from the south agreed to allow Oregon to enter as a "free" state, in exchange for opening slavery to the southwest United States.

Oregon was admitted to the Union on February 14, 1859. Founded as a refuge from disputes over slavery, Oregon had a "whites only" clause in its original state Constitution."

[appalachiablue]

16. White population: Oregon 83.6%, Washington 77.4%

Oregon's racist history is unknown by many. In the 1960s there were still window signs in Portland businesses, 'White Trade Only,' 'No Blacks, Jews, Orientals or Dogs.' Non-whites experienced discrimination in housing and employment for many years as well.

"The Racist History of Portland, the Whitest City in America." It’s known as a modern-day hub of progressivism, but its past is one of exclusion. The Atlantic, July, 2016.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/07/racist-history-portland/492035/

But many African Americans in Portland say they’re not surprised when they hear about racial incidents in this city and state. That’s because racism has been entrenched in Oregon, maybe more than any state in the north, for nearly two centuries. When the state entered the union in 1859, for example, Oregon explicitly forbade black people from living in its borders, the only state to do so.
In more recent times, the city repeatedly undertook “urban renewal” projects (such as the construction of Legacy Emanuel Hospital) that decimated the small black community that existed here. And racism persists today. A 2011 audit found that landlords and leasing agents here discriminated against black and Latino renters 64 percent of the time, citing them higher rents or deposits and adding on additional fees. In area schools, African American students are suspended and expelled at a rate four to five times higher than that of their white peers.

>"Local Color" documentary, Oregon Public Broadcast. https://www.opb.org/television/programs/local-color/

The Charlottesville Unite the Right Rally was attended by people from 35 states, including members of extreme far right groups RAM, Rise Above Movement, based in Calif.; Patriot Prayer, based in Portland, Oregon; Proud Boys and others.



Oregon KKK march, 1920s.

[Baitball Blogger]

19. Are you not recognizing what has been happening in recent history?

You're not suggesting that Oregon is on par with Alabama, are you? Oregon has been leaning blue since 1988.

I would hazard a guess that up to 75 years ago there wasn't a state in the country that would meet the progressive expectations that we have TODAY. And that's the point. Where is Oregon TODAY? I'll tell you where it is: More Aware than Alabama on racial issues.

[RhodeIslandOne]

20. And Republicans are the party of Lincoln n/m

[appalachiablue]

17. See #16, tx.

[louis c]

10. Good verdict

[Jim__]

12. "Magnuson threw a drink ... at Warren"

Depending on whether or not that drink was alcoholic, that may pretty much explain the whole incident.

[ProudLib72]

13. Living on hate makes you sick

An autopsy was conducted and the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office found Magnuson was in “extremely poor health” and that those pre-existing conditions were “a substantial contributing factor to his death,” according to the federal press release issued Monday.

It sounds like part of the reason he was not found guilty had to do with this.

[NutmegYankee]

15. Ironically "Stand your Ground" helped him in this case.

The lack of a duty to retreat saved him. In most states he could be charged because he didn't try to retreat before punching back.