San Francisco Chronicle
October 28, 2011|Justin Berton and Will Kane, Chronicle Staff Writers
OAKLAND -- Scott Olsen, a 24-year-old Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq, stood calmly in front of a police line as tear gas canisters that officers shot into the Occupy Oakland protest Tuesday night whizzed past his head."He was standing perfectly still, provoking no one," said Raleigh Latham, an Oakland filmmaker shooting footage of the confrontation between police and hundreds of protesters at 14th Street and Broadway. "If something didn't hit him directly in the face, then it went off close to his head and knocked him down."
The something was a projectile that apparently came from police lines, fractured Olsen's skull and put him in Highland General Hospital. Doctors upgraded his condition Thursday from critical to fair, and said they expect him to make a full recovery.
Olsen, a Daly City resident and member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, fell to the ground after police lobbed or fired an object - possibly a tear gas canister - at a group of protesters.
While Olsen lay wounded in the street, other protesters rushed to his aid. Video footage appears to show an officer tossing another canister toward the group helping him.
One protester can be heard screaming "What the f-" at police as the device emits a loud bang, while a demonstrator angrily pounds his sign on the street. The group eventually carried Olsen away.
Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan called the incident "unfortunate."
2 comments:
I watched this interview with Rachel Maddow. Heartbreaking. He's got a voracious spirit and is making astonishing progress in his recovery. Occupy needs to start putting some political candidates forward - just like the Tea Baggers did - in order to get the changes brought to the table for serious discussion.
Absolutely outrageous. The 1% are rattledt goes out to him!
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