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Nov 11, 2009 7:40 am US/Central
Greenway Stabbing Raises Self-Defense Questions
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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Tim Jackson, 17, died early Saturday morning after being stabbed near 28th Street and Hiawatha Avenue South in Minneapolis.(File)
CBS
Mary Lee has heard too many stories about the Greenway at night. She now carries a metal U-Lock at her side when she rides her bike.
"If somebody does come after me like that, I'm going to smack them with it," she said.
She's heard about the man most of only know as P.W. -- the man who stabbed a teenager after police said he was trying to rob him. It happened early Saturday morning on the Greenway near 28th Street East and Hiawatha Avenue.
Police said Andre Whirlwind Horse and Tim Jackson, both 17, had planned to find a person, beat them up and take their money along the Greenway. They ran into P.W., who had been walking home from a friend's house.
P.W. told police he heard the teenagers behind him and started walking fast, but they caught up to him. One of them asked why he was going so fast. At that point, P.W. said he took his knife out of his pocket and held it to his side telling them he was concerned because people had been recently "messed up" in the area.
P.W. then said Whirlwind Horse punched him in the head. When P.W. turned, he said he saw Jackson's fist coming at him too. P.W. then stabbed Jackson once before he ran away and called police.
On Tuesday afternoon, Whirlwind Horse was charged with attempted robbery in the first degree and attempted simple robbery. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said the investigation into whether P.W. will be charged is ongoing. Freeman said he's waiting for autopsy results, a review from the medical examiner, as well more information.
"We'll be making a decision in due course," Freeman said.
There is a possibility P.W. could be charged with some sort of crime. According to Hamline Law Professor Marie Failinger, "You can try to stop that felony in your home, but on the street, you need to try to get away if you possibly can safely."
In Minnesota, you must first try to retreat from the situation. If you can't, you can fight back, but you can only use deadly force if you think your life is in danger.
In P.W.'s case, Failinger said prosecutors would likely look at the danger P.W. might have felt when deciding if this was a crime or self-defense. They'd consider his statements that he was worried about others being "messed up" in the area. They'd also looked into whether he felt trapped and ganged-up on by two people.
"It's a matter of his credibility, the fact that he called cops suggests that he wasn't out to harm somebody," Failinger said.
While standing at the memorial erected in his honor near the spot where he died, Jackson's friends said they still don't understand it.
"With what Tim and Andre did is like, you could have fought back, you didn't have to stab him. You didn't have no right to take his life," said Elizabeth Robinson. "It don't make sense."
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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