Avoidence key to self-defense

In Green Bay,WI,USA, a Keshena man claims self-defense in stabbing of Grignon is charged with the murder of 19-year-old man on the Menominee Indian Reservation.

This is a case with three different stories from witnesses some supporting self-defense other not. This is a good case to look at even though no martial arts are involved in the facts of the case. This case is interesting because it can be looked at from a few different generic perspectives that can be applied to our Martial Arts teachings. First let’s take a look at some of the facts of the case:

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Tracy Peters Saturday morning without incident for allegedly stabbing Sean Grignon in Middle Village. Peters told investigators he was acting in self-defense, but another witness disputes that, according to the criminal complaint filed Thursday in federal court in Green Bay. According to the complaint, Menominee County Sheriff’s Deputies and Tribal Police officers arrived at N2010 Hickory St. around 2:23 a.m. Saturday and found Grignon on the front porch of a home. He was not breathing and did not have a pulse. A puncture wound was visible on Grignon’s right chest, and officers attempted life-saving measures until an ambulance arrived. Grignon never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead Saturday morning. At the scene, Peters allegedly told an officer, “I did it. I’m the one who did the stabbing.” When asked where the knife was Peters told the officer someone had grabbed it from him. “I want you to make sure that you collect all the evidence properly because I was just protecting myself,” the complaint quotes Peters as telling the police officer.

A 20-year-old witness who was with Peters and several other people at a neighboring home on Hickory St. where the altercation occurred told investigators that three males walked by the home and two of them began bad-mouthing some of the occupants. The third person in the walking group, identified as Grignon, was described as trying to stop the argument. The witness, Destinee Lyons, said she was handing Grignon a beer when Peters approached her from behind and lunged toward Grignon, hitting him in the chest. She then saw a knife in Peters’ hand. Lyons told investigators that Peters was not involved in the argument and there was “no way Peters was defending himself.” She went on to say that Grignon didn’t do anything to anyone and was trying to break up the dispute.
Peters told investigators a different story, saying he stayed in the home and that Lyons told him to get out and help with the altercation. He said the young men came back three times and that the encountered escalated into a physical altercation. Peters said Lyons pushed him off a porch where he fell to the ground and was hit with clubs on the shoulders and in the throat. He then took off, was chased, and hid behind a trailer home. When asked where he got the knife, Peters told investigators he was confused about what happened, according to the complaint. The compliant states that Peters did have bruising and other surface injuries on his arms.

A third witness, Maniyan Brisk, told investigators that Grignon was yelling at the other two to stop fighting, but was punched and then got involved in the fight. That witness also said that at one point Peters was involved in the fight, according to the complaint. A detention hearing for Peters was scheduled for Monday, and a preliminary hearing was set for Oct. 5. If convicted, Peters faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and/or a $250,000 fine.
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So what did everyone involved do wrong, especially the deceased? From the different accounts it is clear that there was an escalating conflict in which all parties seemed to have a part. First it is clear that several people were trying to control the situation which was increasing the intensity of the conflict. Unfortunately we do not know what the argument/fight was about but we will assume it was some personal issue (dating/money/racial).

Let us first look at the deceased, Grignon. If he was in fact trying to breakup the situation he did a poor job by letting himself be drawn into the conflict. Had he maintained his objectivity and distance he may have survived. Why? One of the first tenets of the Martial Arts is control, control of yourself. By maintaining control of yourself you can often bring calm to a situation and thereby control from the confidence you exude. The second mistake made was his attempt to ‘get between’ the opposing sides. This made him a target to both friend and foe since he was serving as a barrier to their objective. In this position he could not control his circle of vulnerability. So what should he have done? This is difficult without first hand information, however let’s try. The first obvious solution is that Grigno should have never gotten involved at all. The dispute didn’t involve him. Since human nature tends to push us to get involved (lack of self-control) since he did he should have maintained control of himself thereby remaining objective and in control. This is a fair assessment, he was stabbed so we can assume he wasn’t maintaining awareness of his surroundings. So we can assume that Grignon would have increased his chances of survival if he had either stayed out of it, or put himself forward as a objective, calming, control force. But we must remember that this isn’t not always realistic, some individuals want a conflict and can not be ‘talked’ out of it. It is for this reason that we must always maintain a defensive physical posture regardless of the words being spoken. I have seen more then once what appeared to be a peaceful resolution turn out to be a ruse intended to get the other’s guard down. On the street you never let your gaurd down. Unfortunately a mistake that Grignon will never be able to learn from.

Now it is time to look at the more difficult case of Peters actions. Here we have someone claiming self-defense yet there is an important component that seems to be missing, the lack of an escape route. When we face a situation as a Martial Artist it is often more difficult not to fight then it is to fight. We must remember that we train so we will not have to fight, yet if faced with that eventuality we will prevail. The Martial Way is one of peace through strength, confidence and self-control. The most intimidating person is the silent one who looks you in the eye without fear. So Peter was upset, he was from most accounts physically assaulted. If this was a mob he was being confronted with then perhaps his actions were warranted if it went for the fact that he got away from them first (hid behind a trailer). Giving the benefit of the doubt perhaps he armed himself for protection and went back to confront the group, is this self-defense? We must always bear in mind there are situations we create and those we do not. In this case Peters does not seem to have created the initial situation however he did create the final situation.

As in most situations there is plenty of blame to go around. Unfortunately in this situation someone paid for their part with their life. It is an interesting question to pose, if this situation would have turned out different had any of those involved been Martial Artists? I leave you with that thought.

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