Occupy Oakland: Iraq war veteran in critical condition after police clashes

[Emily]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/26/occupy-oakland-veteran-critical-condition

Occupy Oakland: Iraq war veteran in critical condition after police clashes

Scott Olsen, 24, in hospital with fractured skull and brain swelling after allegedly being hit by a police projectile in Oakland

Adam Gabbatt
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 26 October 2011 15.42 EDT

[snip]
"It's terrible to go over to Iraq twice and come back injured, and then get injured by the police that are supposed to be protecting us," he said.

He said Olsen had served two tours of Iraq, in 2006 and 2007. Olsen was in 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines with Shannon before leaving the military in 2010.

He moved to the San Francisco area in July and works for Opswat, a software company, living with Shannon in Daly City, just south of San Francisco....

 

[Roehl_JC]

Re: Occupy Oakland: Iraq war veteran in critical condition after police clashes

May Scott Olsen know that we all love and admire his courage. We pray that he fully recovers. This is Outrageous, the guy gave the US 2 tours of Iraq and years to serve our country and we let defacto bullies abuse him for exercising his Constitutional rights, which governments are obligated to protect if they're legitimate. Something must give. The Federal Government needs to protect our people in the Occupy Wall Street movement from such local abuses of law in attempts to silence the Free and coerce citizens to cowardly accept the takeover of our govs by int. corporations, their media conjob controllers of mass disinformation, and elements among Insider Elites who'd rather suppress us than learn from the 99%. Bless them all.

 

[Emily]

Re: Occupy Oakland: Iraq war veteran in critical condition after police clashes

I read that Mr. Olsen was alert and communicating but having trouble speaking today and might have brain surgery tomorrow.
This is the address circulating for sending get well cards (and is the correct address for the hospital reported to be treating him):

Scott Olsen
Highland Hospital
1411 East 31st Street
Oakland, CA 94602


http://www.businessinsider.com/injured-marine-scott-olson-is-a-network-engineer-who-despises-the-inequality-in-america-2011-10

A hospital spokesman said Olsen was upgraded to fair condition and moved into an intensive care unit on Thursday. His uncle said his parents were flying in from Wisconsin to be with him.

"His mother, this is obviously a heartbreaker to her," George Nygaard, a Marine veteran, said from Wisconsin. "I don't think she understands why he was doing this."

People at OPSWAT, the company where Olsen works, were devastated after learning of his injuries. They described him as a humble, quiet guy who worked hard over long hours.

"He's been a big piece of what we do here and our growth strategy, so obviously it's pretty devastating for us that he's in the shape he's in," said Jeff Garon, the company's director of marketing.

Olsen was awarded seven medals while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, which he left as a lance corporal in November 2009 after serving for four years.

He went on two tours in Iraq, one in 2006-2007 and another in 2008, where he worked as a data network specialist. He was awarded seven medals, including the Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medal, according to the Marine Corps.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/inju...e-inequality-in-america-2011-10#ixzz1c3qyjffa

Weapons that should only be used to target dangerous or self-injuring individuals are reported to have been used indiscriminately against peaceful protesters.
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/10/opd-crowd-control-policy-force
Oakland Police Under a Cloud for Violent Occupy Crackdown
By Gavin Aronsen
Thu Oct. 27, 2011 8:49 PM PDT

History of these 'nonlethal' weapons that can be lethal or inflict serious wounds or death:
http://www.policeone.com/columnists/steve-ijames/articles/118328/

None of these weapons should be used in a free society for crowd control, even the control of of non-violent civil disobedience. The inappropriate militarization of police and dehumanization of dissenting citizens in this country has been becoming far too acceptable for a long time.

Another Iraq veteran who joined the New York OWS group last nite in support of Scott Olsen reported being clubbed by oppressive police there:

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[Roehl_JC]

Re: Occupy Oakland: Iraq war veteran in critical condition after police clashes

"Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans, born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world." - John F. Kennedy...

We're requesting that President Obama declare a civil rights emergency, federalize national guards and move them into these cities under thug control and keep the peace by protecting peaceful assemblies of the OWS movement, as guaranteed by the Constitution and Bill of Rights and UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We';ll have to wait and see what his response is to this, but if he's really a liberal progressive leader he'll remember the 60s Civil Rights struggle and the need was the same then.

Thank you so much FluTrackers and Sharon and Emily for helping keep us all informed. ))

 

[Emily]

Re: Occupy Oakland: Iraq war veteran in critical condition after police clashes

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/04/occupy-oakland-second-veteran-injured?fb=native&CMP=FBCNETTXT9038

Occupy Oakland: second Iraq war veteran injured after police clashes

Kayvan Sabehgi in intensive care with a lacerated spleen after protests in Oakland, a week after Scott Olsen was hurt. He says police beat him with batons....

Adam Gabbatt
guardian.co.uk, Friday 4 November 2011 15.26 EDT

There is a non-political website set up to send Scott Olsen get well wishes and photos here:

http://www.scottolsen.org/

What is disturbing about Oakland is that these severely injured vets were not in the middle of a violent mob when injured. Seattle police are dealing with civil disobedience without using this level of violence. They do arrest people, and have used pepper spray at times, which is very different than shooting tear gas canisters.

Even when Jamie Dimon was here speaking, things did not get out of hand in spite of a brief occupation of one of the Chase banks.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2011/11/03/photos-occupy-seattle-protesters-clash-with-police/

 

[Emily]

Re: Occupy Oakland: Iraq war veteran in critical condition after police clashes

There was some controversy over use of pepper spray in Seattle on a pregnant teenager, an 84-yr-old woman, and a priest. With the possible exception of the pregnant teen, the others seem recovered. (I would not attend a protest if pregnant, but its also possible for people going about their business to get caught up in crowds.)

I'm glad the Seattle police are not firing projectiles of any type into crowds, since the news could have been much worse in that case. I heard Mayor McGinn on the radio this morning and he said things were getting very tense on the streets and some protesters are being provocative in a physical way.

But the ones in the controversy below were not (McGinn is quoted in the article as saying they were peaceful, and he knows the 84-yr-old personally):

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/314567

The plucky old lady, however, tried to make light of the incident after she recovered. She said in an interview with AP: ?It?s a gruesome picture, I?m really not that bad looking."
According to Dorli Rainey, she was on a bus when she heard helicopters hovering overhead. She got out of the bus, in her words, to "show solidarity with New York."...

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/314567#ixzz1e2jl0wWw

 

[Emily]

Re: Occupy Oakland: Iraq war veteran in critical condition after police clashes

I found a couple of updates on Scott Olsen's condition. He was out of the hospital by the end of November, and though still having to go to an effort to speak, he is making a remarkable recovery from a severe injury with the help of a lot of speech therapy.

The internal investigation by the Oakland police is supposedly ongoing. In his video interview he said they had not even questioned him yet at that point.

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_19428259

Police investigation into Scott Olsen injury still ongoing

By Kristin J. Bender
Oakland Tribune
Posted: 11/28/2011 06:00:37 PM PST
Updated: 11/30/2011 01:17:55 PM PST

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/11/28/18701164.php

Interview with Scott Olsen About His Injury from the Police Attack on Occupy Oakland: video
by Dave Id
Monday Nov 28th, 2011 12:24 AM

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(video 9:35)

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http://www.indybay.org/occupyoakland

Also I heard Dorli Rainey, the 84-yr-old who was peppered sprayed in Seattle interviewed on a radio show at least 10 days after that happened, and she was still having some lung congestion and throat trouble. She said that police in the US and Egypt had changed pepper spray formulas to something stronger than they used to use.

Below is an interview with her and Norm Stamper, the Seattle police chief during the WTO protests in 1999.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/17/84_year_old_dorli_rainey_pepper