Scott Olsen may have survived survived two tours of duty in Iraq, he may not survive Occupy Oakland. The U.S. Marine is in a hospital with critical injuries after an intense confrontation with police at this week’s violent protests in California.
A member of the Veterans for Peace Organization, Olsen, 24, “sustained a skull fracture after being shot in the head with a police projectile while peacefully participating in an Occupy Oakland march,” said Jose Vasquez, executive director of the Iraq Veterans Against the War organization, in a statement posted on the group’s website today. “Scott is currently sedated at a local hospital awaiting examination by a neurosurgeon,” added Vasquez.
(UPDATE: Olsen has been released from the hospital)
“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,” wrote Jay Finneburgh, a photographer of the protests.
“I’m just absolutely devastated that someone who did two tours of Iraq and came home safely is now lying in a U.S. hospital because of the domestic police force,” said Adele Carpenter, a friend of Olsen’s, adding, “[Olsen] had only moved to Oakland in July, Carpenter said. He is a member of Veterans for Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War, and met Carpenter through her work with the civilian soldier alliance.”
Fellow Marines are infuriated. Jay Gentile posted the below picture (which is meant to be a message to the police) to Reddit, where it has attracted over 600 comments.
Scroll down to the video below for more (CAUTION: graphic footage and language).
Related articles
- Scott Olsen, Iraq Veteran, Critically Injured at Occupy Oakland [Video] (inquisitr.com)
- Scott Olsen Attacked for Using First Amendment Rights, Says His Uncle (sfist.com)
- Scott Olsen injuries prompt review as Occupy Oakland protests continue (guardian.co.uk)
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