From a Facebook fan page for Scott Olsen
IndyBay caught up with Iraq veteran Scott Olsen, who suffered a head injury last month in the police raid on Occupy Oakland. IndyBay's Dave Id writes:
Scott says that his thinking is clear but that he struggles speak fluently. He currently awaits the results of an investigation into the incident being conducted by the Oakland Police Department, an investigation in which Scott himself has not yet been interviewed.
It's clear from Mr. Olsen's account in the video that he really got hurt, and that he's working hard to get better. It's also clear that he's resolute about the Occupy cause. He says:
Originally I started with Occupy SF, and I just thought that Occupy Oakland was doing things a little differently, a bit different. So I came over here to check it out. And I liked what was being done here, with the teach-ins and the community here. And I came back on October 25th. I saw a tweet or something that said, 'You guys need help, you guys need to support.' So I had nothing better to do, so I jumped to ride in and come over here.
You might expect a veteran of two tours in Iraq to run toward his friends when they need his help. You would not necessarily expect him to end up in this condition after a police raid involving so-called nonlethal force. Organizers say he was hit in the head with a tear gas canister fired by police. The San Jose paper says the official investigation into what happened is still ongoing. Mr. Olsen tells IndyBay that he hasn't yet been interviewed. "It's been over a month," he says. "How long does it take to see who fired this at me?"
Asked if he has any message to send to Occupy Oakland, Mr. Olsen says it's to "stay peaceful" and open with each other.
The San Jose Mercury-News reports that Occupy Oakland plans to retake the city's Frank Ogawa Plaza today at noon for a seven-day vigil, part of a wave of restyled occupations around the country.
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The Republicans in all their might think they know what is best when it comes to religion and what is family values even though they abide to none of those things. As the Republicans will have to now live up to their legacy of what they really represent of that factor of greed. And what was the one factor that is so representative of evil was greed and totally against what Jesus represented. The sons of darkness in the war scrolls represented greed and even the Whore of Babylon represented greed. The Republicans stand for the 1% most greediest and corrupt people out there and will not back down even to do what is right. The Republicans are truly living their legacy now as sons of darkness and as Whores of Babylon and standing as the corrupt, greedy, arrogant, hypocrites, power craving and deceivers. And currently, the Republicans are looking for their best Whore to run for President.
And what does this rant have to do with Scott Olsen? And what does it contribute to our understanding of why we are doing what we are doing? Do you really think this is a "Republican" thing? Your post is one of the most tasteless I have read. You do not speak for me, and I suspect that the majority of Occupiers would say the same.
Yeah, but since it slams Republicans, it won't be deleted.
Is this evidence that Republican interests are actively trying to coopt or subvert the OQΠ movement?
Foolish words from a partisan fool. I bet there's an 'evil Republican' hiding under his bed or in his closet. A stellar example of bigotry and stereotyping.
. Mr. Olsen tells IndyBay that he hasn't yet been interviewed. "It's been over a month," he says. "How long does it take to see who fired this at me?"
as long as it takes for it to faid away. or at lease until they can get enough misinformation out to make it unclear.
Troubling video, and even more troubling comments. I hope the lawsuits bankrupt the city of Oakland. An incident like this should be investigated by the state or federal authorities automatically. No police department should be investigating itself.
There is no reason why we should trust the city officials to do a proper investigation of the incident. The city has a track record for heavy handed tactics and is incapable of making a serious effort to professionalize the police department. No police officer is going to turn against a fellow officer. The whitewash has already begun and only the state or federal officials can get to the facts.
It's not a real investigation, merely a charade to try to convince the state or federal officials that they are really "serious" about it. phft.
My hope is that Scott Olsen recovers completely! The crying shame, disgrace and hypocrisy about this whole incident is that this guy survived 2 tours in Iraq, and it wasn't until he came "home" and started practicing those "freedoms" that he fought for, and then he was attacked!!
Can someone explain how "the police" can investigate their own, isn't that like the rapist/murderer/arsonist - investigating his own crime?!? Where is the federal Justice Dept. or the FBI and why aren't they investigating?!?!
Most important here (aside from the quest for justice for Scott) is his plea to those involved in OWS to "Stay peaceful". It's not an easy thing to remain peaceful and passive in the face of such violence from law enforcement, but that is what is required.
My greatest concern at this point in the movement is that it has gained enough power now to be a real threat to the politicians who give their representation to the highest bidder instead of those who elected them. Such people are not at all above hiring "insurgents" to foment violence from within the movement or, failing that, to act out violently, themselves "in the name of OWS," and thereby destroy the purity and integrity of the message.
What an admirable young man Scott Olsen is.
Quite a number of the comments here have taken flatly the claim that this cannister was fired "at" Scott Olsen. No one was aiming for him, it was a freak accident. The cannister was fired at the rowdy group directly behind Olsen who were throwing bottles at the police, and the cannister happened to hit him in the head. One of the reasons this story is so big is because such an injury is exceedingly rare, otherwise this would just be a tally on the chart keeping track of fractured skulls.
I also don't appreciate this article's quote of "so-called nonlethal force." It hasn't killed anyone at these protests, despite the reports of over abusive police officers. The title "nonlethal" seems to fit accordingly, though I don't begrudge the obvious use such a sentiment has as propaganda. Compare this to the response that the protesters in Cairo are getting from their police forces. Dozens have died, and many more injured. Acting like what the police have been doing here is "lethal" in any way is at most a sick joke. You can looks down on their response, call them abusive or repressive, that's fine because it's not blatantly inaccurate.
@Batabback Thanks speaking your mind. I'm wondering if you follow this issue more broadly. You sound like you might know a lot about it.
Ditto.
Inquiring minds want to know.
I don't see any third person impersonal in this discussion.
I agree with your points in general. Where we diverge is in the statement: "this cannister was fired "at" Scott Olsen" I'm unaware of any evidence Olsen was struck by a cannister - are you? OWS participants and abundant eyewitnesses agree, protesters were throwing bottles/rocks etc. Close scrutiny of the video shows some sort of debris next to Olsen before he's attended to. At the end of the day; when you disobey police orders, you take your chances - the choice and responsibility is yours.
One other point everyone seems to ignore: If Olsen was struck by a teargas canister, why isn't there a canister near him or discharging in the vicinity? Where did it go? Did it just 're-energize' and magically fly away? A canister deflected off Olsen would have fallen nearby, yet there is nothing. Only after several people rushed forward (to help) was another canister lobbed in the vicinity clearly seen in the video. I believe the absence of tear gas near Olsen demonstrates he WASN'T struck by a canister that would have a visible discharge plume.
Laura - I'm flattered you chose to inquire. I doubt I know any more than most people who follow the news, because that's most of what I do. I tend to keep to the BBC until I find something I want to research, then I do basic Internet searches for articles related to the subject. That tends to branch off into what happened previously, and so on and so forth. It can be time consuming, but I like to know what happened without the value judgments, so I have to sift through a lot of articles to get facts that people agree on. I doubt it's any more work than any other interested party.
Batabback, I can appreciate the habit, you aren't by chance a retired government official who had a hand in making policy recommendations, are you? Your first post, and your description of your research tenaciousness lead me to believe you have some experience in academia or government.
That's very flattering, paplanner. I'm a student in California, going into my Junior year of University, double majoring in Political Science and History. I hope to end up in the government, but if I aim too far ahead I lose track of now.