In a strange turn of events, FedEx Driver, Timothy Warren, will not be charged with murder after defending himself against a violent racist.
As reported by the Washington Post, in late Sept. Warren engaged in a verbal disagreement with Joseph Magnuson who accused the truck driver of driving too fast through Magnuson's Portland, Orgean neighborhood. According to reports, Warren tried to defuse the situation by explaining to Magnuson that he was just trying to finish his days work, however, things quickly turned hostile when Magnuson began to hurl racial slurs at the black truck driver.
This, in turn, led Warren to get out of his truck where Magnuson continued to call him derogatory names. Eventually, Magnuson swung on Warren which resulted in the driver swinging back in self-defense, landing a single blow above Magnuson's left eye. The 55-year-old man fell to the ground where he lost consciousness and eventually died later that evening.
While this seems like a dramatic turn of events, a medical examination determined that Magnuson's death was a result of "extremely poor health" and that the punch alone was not fatal. Armed with this knowledge, Senior Deputy District Attorney Adam Gibbs concluded that Warren was "within his legal right to challenge Magnuson’s racist vitriol," stating that Warren's decision not to ignore his aggressor was "not legally significant."
In addition, three separate witnesses reported to Gibbs that Magnuson as the irritant in the situation.
"They report that Mr. Magnuson then 'very aggressively ' began yelling at Mr. Warren to slow down. Mr. Warren stopped his truck while Mr. Magnuson continued to berate him. The witnesses agree that Mr. Magnuson called Mr. Warren a 'f****** n*****' in combination with other aggressive and abusive phrases 'over and over again.'"
These combined factors were enough for Warren to avoid any jail time, however, it is unclear if he is still employed by the shipping company.
