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Police Use Tear Gas, Flash Bang Grenades on Occupy Oakland Protesters
Scott Olsen, a Marine Corps veteran of two tours of duty in Iraq who is now involved in Veterans for Peace, was critically wounded by Oakland police during a crackdown of the Occupy Oakland protests on Tuesday night, Oct. 25. Olsen was struck in the head by a “nonlethal” projectile—a tear gas canister or smoke canister—fired by an Oakland police officer. The round fractured Olsen’s skull, leaving him in critical condition. Olsen is currently hospitalized with serious injuries and is reported to be in critical condition. The veteran’s roommate was informed by doctors that Olsen had a “skull fracture and swelling of the brain,” according to The Guardian. When a group of fellow protesters ran up to help the injured Olsen, an Oakland police officer threw a flash grenade into their midst.
Veterans for Peace issued this statement:
Veteran for Peace member Scott Olsen, a Marine Corps veteran twice deployed to Iraq, is in hospital now in stable but serious condition with a fractured skull, struck by a police projectile fired into a crowd in downtown Oakland, California in the early morning hours of today. Other people were injured in the assault and many were arrested after Oakland police in riot gear were ordered to evict people encamped in the ongoing “Occupy Oakland” movement. Olsen is also a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War.
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“Police Tear Gas Occupy Oakland Protesters,” San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 26, 2011
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Images from “Police Tear Gas Occupy Oakland Protesters,” San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 26, 2011.
