Oakland, California - On October 25th, a Veterans for Peace member and Iraq Veterans Against the War activist, Scott Olsen was shot in the head by either San Francisco Sheriffs deputies or Palo Alto Police, at 14th Street and Broadway in downtown Oakland.
Police turned a peaceful demonstration into a war zone when they assaulted the unarmed demonstrators with flash bang bombs, tear gas and rubber bullets.
According to Jeff Rousset, Scott Olsen, a former Marine, two-time Iraq war veteran, and member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, sustained a skull fracture after being shot in the head with a police projectile while peacefully participating in an Occupy Oakland march. The march began at a downtown library and headed towards City Hall in an effort to reclaim a site"recently cleared by police"that had previously served as an encampment for members of the 99% movement.
To make matters even worse, the good samaritans that came to Scott’s aid also came under fire from police grenades.
The Bay Citizen reports that at an afternoon press conference with Oakland Mayor Jean Quan on Wednesday, interim police Chief Howard Jordan said the Oakland Police Department had opened a “level one investigation” into Olsen’s injury, involving OPD’s internal affairs, major crimes and homicide departments; the Alameda County District Attorney’s office; and the federal monitor that oversees the Oakland police department.
Well wishes and cards can be sent to: USMC Scott Olsen, Highland Hospital, 1411 East 31st Street, Oakland, CA 94602.
Please consider a generous donation to help cover the medical expenses:
http://bit.ly/uIgbIK (or use this code).
This incident is a stark reminder of the dangers associated with challenging the status quo. Even peaceful demonstrations can become dangerous when the corporatist government’s interests are threatened.
