Friday, October 28, 2011

OWS Protesters Rally Around Injured Iraq Vet Former Marine's fractured skull fuels criticism of police tactics in suppressing Oakland protests.

The Occupy Wall Street movement is rallying around an Iraq war veteran who was seriously injured in Tuesday night's protests in Oakland.

Scott Olsen, a 24-year-old former Marine who works at a software company, was standing with other protesters when police began firing tear gas canisters into the crowd, theSan Francsico Chronicle reported. Struck in the head by some sort of projectile—apparently thrown by police, though that hasn't been confirmed--he suffered a cracked skull. Ashaky YouTube video shows fellow activists carrying him away, bleeding, amid the skirmish.

His condition was upgraded from critical to fair Thursday, though he remained hospitalized and was unable to speak, according to Reuters.

"Occupy" demonstrators in cities around the country held vigils for him Thursday night, USA Today reports. At least 1,000 people gathered in Oakland, where Mayor Jean Quonissued a statement apologizing for what happened Tuesday and saying she had visited Olsen and his parents. She pledged a full investigation.

That hasn't stopped an outpouring of criticism of Oakland's handling of the protests, however. The city's police chief has claimed his officers didn't fire flash grenades or rubber bullets at protesters, but activists and news organizations have found evidence of both in the aftermath of Tuesday's violence. The New York Times blog The Lede summarizes some of the reports.

Regardless, the crackdown appears to be motivating the protesters rather than discouraging them. "We are all Scott Olsen," said a post on the website OccupyWallSt.org, echoing Egypt's Tahrir Square rallying cry, "We are all Khaled Said."And the San Jose Mercury News reports Occupy Oakland protesters are planning a general strike aimed at shutting down the city on Nov. 2.


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