NOTE FROM GP (5:35 EST): This is exactly the police behavior captured in the videos posted here. Watch again — woman down, crowd gathers to help, cops attack crowd. The second vid shows the woman carried away, dazed and possibly contused; condition unknown.
In cop world they call that an M.O. — wait till they gather, then attack. The injured woman and wounded vet were used as Judas goats.
NOTE FROM JOHN (4:30 EST): And when his friends went to try to help the man, who was now lying still on the ground after having suffered a fractured skull and a swollen brain apparently from the recent police attack, the cops attacked again, throwing an explosive device into the middle of the group helping the fallen man, in order to disperse them.
Beyond sickening.
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This is truly sickening and maddening. First, Oakland police shot Scott Olsen, an Iraq War vet and #OccupyOakland demonstrator, in the head with a "non-lethal" projectile, likely a tear gas canister or flash grenade. Scott is now in critical condition, being treated for a fractured skull and swollen brain. He and his family are in my thoughts. From the Guardian:
Jay Finneburgh, a photographer who was covering the protest, published pictures of Olsen lying on the ground.
"This poor guy was right behind me when he was hit in the head with a police projectile. He went down hard and did not get up," Finneburgh wrote.
"I'm just absolutely devastated that someone who did two tours of Iraq and came home safely is now lying in a US hospital because of the domestic police force," Carpenter said.To make matters worse, while Occupy Oakland demonstrators were rushing to his aid to give him medical treatment and get him away from ongoing tear gas clouds, a member of the Oakland police department then threw a tear gas canister into the crowd that had gathered around him. More from the Guardian:
Video footage published to YouTube shows Olsen lying prone on the ground infront of a line of police. Around 10 people gather around him in an apparent attempt to provide aid, before a police officer throws an explosive device into their midst, scattering the group. Footage captured after the explosion, which appears to be from a flash bang grenade, shows Olsen being carried away by a group of people.Warning: this video is violent and disturbing.
While these grenades are also allegedly non-lethal, if you get hit in the head with one, it could kill you. And this police officer threw a tear gas grenade into a crowd of people trying to give someone medical attention.
This is absolutely disgusting and should be the subject of criminal investigations. People need to lose their jobs - the Oakland Chief of Police and the Oakland Mayor to start. This is an absolutely unacceptable use of violence against peaceful protesters.
