The first time Ray Widstrand and Tanikqwa Givins crossed paths, Widstrand lay unconscious and bleeding in the street on St. Paul's East Side as several young men kicked him, stomped on him and stripped off his shorts in a brutal robbery that nearly killed him.

Givins threw herself across his chest, catapulting herself into the role of protector.

It wasn't until Friday afternoon, nearly three years later, that they came face-to-face once again, this time to accept the highest recognition afforded to civilians by St. Paul police — the Chief's Award for Valor.

"I'm still recovering, but I've come a long way," Widstrand said after the two hugged.

"You look nice," Givins said.

"Thank you," he said. "You look great."

Nearly three years after the brutal attack on St. Paul’s East Side, Ray Widstrand was finally able to say: “I’m very happy to be meeting you.”

Widstrand wore a black suit, yellow shirt and striped tie; Givins, a black dress and a knit sweater jacket. Smiles stretched across both of their faces.

"I'm very happy to be meeting you," he said.

"Oh, you're gonna make me cry," she said as she buried her face in her hands. "I'm gonna cry again."

Their journey began about 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 4, 2013, as Widstrand walked home and stumbled into a throng of teenagers watching young women fight in the street. He stopped and extended an arm toward a young woman who had fallen.

That's when Charles K. Redding threw a punch, knocking Widstrand unconscious instantaneously and unleashing an attack by several young men who had been attending a house party on Preble Street near Minnehaha Avenue.

Givins, who was retrieving her sister and cousin from the party, said she heard "a big ol' knock" as Widstrand's head hit the ­pavement.

"I just threw my body over his," she recalled Friday. "He wasn't moving. He wasn't speaking."

Givins' actions that night were remarkable not only because they placed her in harm's way (she said she still suffers muscle aches from being kicked), but because the five young men who were eventually charged in the attack were allegedly tied to violent St. Paul gangs known for retaliatory assaults and murders.

When the first of Widstrand's alleged attackers went on trial, the fear among witnesses was palpable. One juror later said it contributed to confusing testimony and the suspect's acquittal.

As for the others charged, Redding pleaded guilty and was sentenced last year to 8½ years in prison, one teen was convicted and sentenced to 16 years in prison, a juvenile pleaded guilty and one case was dismissed.

Givins, now 25, served as the prosecution's star witness, even though all she saw from her vantage point were shoes and feet swinging back and forth. Her sister also testified.

"Everybody called us snitches," Givins said Friday. "I wasn't worried. You've got one life to live."

Givins fought to hold onto Widstrand's shorts when they were torn from his body. When his boxer shorts slipped off in the struggle, she pulled them back up.

When the attackers and dozens of witnesses fled, Givins stayed with Widstrand until medics arrived.

"Your selfless actions likely prevented Mr. Widstrand, who was gravely injured, from dying that evening," St. Paul Police Chief Thomas Smith said before placing a medal around Givins' neck. "Without any hesitation, you put yourself in tremendous harm's way to help a stranger in need."

The police chief also presented Widstrand with a medal, telling him, "What you did was simply heroic."

“What you did was simply heroic,” Police Chief Thomas Smith told Ray Widstrand, who continues to make remarkable progress in recovering from injuries suffered in the brutal attack. Widstrand helped a young woman who had fallen amidst a throng of teenagers.

Widstrand suffered serious mental and physical impairment from the attack and underwent multiple surgeries. Doctors initially feared he would die, but he recovered beyond expectations, returning to full-time work last fall at a public-access TV station and regaining his razor-sharp wit.

Successes and setbacks

His recovery is ongoing, marked with successes and occasional setbacks. A series of five seizures about a month and a half ago landed him in the hospital for a day. One of his key goals this year is to move out of his parents' New Brighton home and into his own place before his 30th birthday in August.

"I'd just like to say that in the wake of an event like this that's so dark and tends to remind us just how brutal and savage people can be, what I'm really excited about — while I am deeply honored to get this award — I'm excited that we're also acknowledging people like Tanikqwa Givins, people who put themselves in harm's way to help strangers," Widstrand said, "because there is a lot of good inside of humanity, and I think it's important that we recognize that."

Smith also gave the Chief's Award for Valor to Richard Johann for helping two officers rescue a woman and child from a burning house, and to Ricardo Martinez for climbing into a second-story window to pull a severely burned man out of a house fire.

Smith also presented the Chief's Award to Abby Dawkins for 22 years of service at the department helping with the loss of officers, to Pamala McCreary for overseeing National Night Out activities and to Derek Mullen for helping raise money and acquire gifts for the annual "Cops and Kids" holiday gift giveaway to hospitalized children.

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708

Twitter: @ChaoStrib