Did Oakland Police Intentionally Shoot Marine Vet Scott Olsen In the Head?
Marine Veteran Was Peacefully Standing When Attacked by Police
The following photograph on videos show that Marine veteran Scott Olsen was peacefully standing at the Oakland protest when police fired a projectile at him:
Did Police Intend to Hit Olsen In the Head?
Here is a photo of the ammunition or projectiles which police shot at the Oakland protesters:
Karl Denninger argues that the police intended to hit Olsen in the head:
One ex-Marine — a combat veteran — took a rubber round in the head. He is in critical condition and may die. That was not a mistake; that was aimed fire and an intentional assassination. Sorry folks, that’s facts – from 50′ you don’t “miss” and hit someone in the head with these things if you’re shooting for the legs or other non-vital parts. He was shot in the head by someone who aimed for the head. Those projectiles are not “non-lethal” and the bomb thrown by a cop at the people trying to come to his assistance after he fell wasn’t tossed accidentally either.
The policemen firing seemed to be having a little too much fun:
A protester also says the police shot him with a rubber bullet when he helped carry Scott Olsen to safety after he had been injured:
The Oakland police violated their own rules (page 9), and some have argued that they would have violated the Geneva Convention against targeting wounded combatants or those attempting to render medical aid.
No wonder even Amnesty International has condemned the use of tear gas as well as the actions of Mayor Jean Quan of Oakland, who said the measures were justified because protesters threw rocks. Although the Obama administration and the Department of Justice has shown no interest in investigating.
Olsen Is an Extremely Hard-Working Network Engineer and a Decorated Veteran
Olsen is a decorated veteran, who was an extremely hard-working network engineer:
Scott Olsen, 24, joined the protests as he worked his day job as a network engineer and left his apartment each night to sleep alongside protesters in San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., Keith Shannon said.
***Olsen, who is originally from Wisconsin, served two tours of duty in Iraq, makes a good living at a San Francisco software company and had a hillside apartment that overlooks San Francisco Bay.
***
Each night, he would go out to the tent camps that have sprung up over the past month in cities as the movement spread to protest economic inequality and what they see as corporate greed.
***
People at OPSWAT, the company where Olsen works, were devastated after learning of his injuries. They described him as a humble, quiet guy who worked hard over long hours.
“He’s been a big piece of what we do here and our growth strategy, so obviously it’s pretty devastating for us that he’s in the shape he’s in,” said Jeff Garon, the company’s director of marketing.
Olsen was awarded seven medals while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, which he left as a lance corporal in November 2009 after serving for four years.
He went on two tours in Iraq, one in 2006-2007 and another in 2008, where he worked as a data network specialist. He was awarded seven medals, including the Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medal, according to the Marine Corps.
Olsen’s condition has been upgraded from critical to “fair”, although neurologists say that he may require brain surgery.
Militarization of the Police is the Problem
Some are comparing police brutality towards the Occupy protesters to that used by Israeli forces against Palestinian protesters. Indeed, numerous heads of U.S. police departments have traveled to Israel for “anti-terrorism training”, and received training from Israeli anti-terrorism experts who have traveled to the U.S. See this, this, this, this.
But whether or not Israeli influence on U.S. police forces is a problem, the increasing militarization of U.S. police departments is clearly the problem (more).
In October 2010, the Oakland Tribune reported:
An Oakland police SWAT team finished second in a prestigious, internationally known training competition this past weekend, losing out to a group of Israeli police but beating more than two dozen other Bay Area law enforcement agencies that participated.
Indeed, the Alameda County Sheriff has hosted some of these Swat competitions (Oakland is in Alameda County, California).
Veterans Are Not Amused by the Attack on Olsen
Veterans are not amused by an attack on one of their own:
Apparently, veterans led the march to re-occupy Oakland after Olsen was injured.
And see this.
Anonymous Releases Police Information
Anonymous released a video in support of Olsen:
The group also temporarily took down the Oakland police website, and released personal information about Oakland police officers.
Mayor Backs Down
And the Mayor of Oakland has now done an about-face, saying the protesters can stay and that she “supports” them.
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Comments
Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data, ability to repeat discredited memes, and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Also, be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor even implied. Any irrelevancies you can mention will also be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.
October 28th, 2011 at 7:03 am
Cossacks work for the Tsar.
Tsar owned by wall st.
Occupy!!
October 28th, 2011 at 8:34 am
We give these yahoos uniforms and a gun and what else do we expect, really? Honestly I have zero respect for 80% of police officers from my direct experience. Somehow we vilify teachers but we’re not allowed to talk about the corrupt, small-minded, and actually dangerously stupid police forces we have around the country who get a badge to make up for some low sense of self-esteem.
These protesters are protesting for, actually, the way of life exactly OF the people who make up the police force (surprise! you people are solidly middle class and nothing more) YET as the smiling cop photo shows, they are there to “beat up some hippes” or something. I have an idea, let’s start slashing police salaries and pensions and see how fast these idiots wake up (or don’t actually given what I know about the rank and file).
This just disgusts me beyond anything. The Oakland police should have a deep soul searching moment if any of them are capable of self-reflection. They should be supporting these people. Period. Anyone connected with this violence on the police side should be rooted out and dismissed immediately. Anything else is completely, and utterly, UnAmerican. This action is worthy of brownshirts NOT Americans. Have we no shame anymore?
October 28th, 2011 at 8:48 am
from above..
…Militarization of the Police is the Problem
Some are comparing police brutality towards the Occupy protesters to that used by Israeli forces against Palestinian protesters. Indeed, numerous heads of U.S. police departments have traveled to Israel for “anti-terrorism training”, and received training from Israeli anti-terrorism experts who have traveled to the U.S. See this, this, this, this.
But whether or not Israeli influence on U.S. police forces is a problem, the increasing militarization of U.S. police departments is clearly the problem (more)….
~~~
this has been going on for a *long time, and it is ‘broadening’..
““He [a federal agent] had his knee on my back and I had no idea why they were there.” – Anthony Wright, victim of a Dept. of Education SWAT team raid
The militarization of American police – no doubt a blowback effect of the military empire – has become an unfortunate part of American life. In fact, it says something about our reliance on the military that federal agencies having nothing whatsoever to do with national defense now see the need for their own paramilitary units. Among those federal agencies laying claim to their own law enforcement divisions are the State Department, Department of Education, Department of Energy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service, to name just a few. These agencies have secured the services of fully armed agents – often in SWAT team attire – through a typical bureaucratic sleight-of-hand provision allowing for the creation of Offices of Inspectors General (OIG). Each OIG office is supposedly charged with not only auditing their particular agency’s actions but also uncovering possible misconduct, waste, fraud, theft, or certain types of criminal activity by individuals or groups related to the agency’s operation. At present, there are 73 such OIG offices in the federal government that, at times, perpetuate a police state aura about them.
For example, it was heavily armed agents from one such OIG office, working under the auspices of the Department of Education…”
http://info.themicroeffect.com/?p=2008
“…1994, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Defense agreed to a memorandum of understanding that enabled the transfer of federal military technology to local police forces. Following the passage of the Defense Authorization Security Act of 1997, which was intended to accelerate the transfer of military equipment to domestic law enforcement departments, local police acquired military weaponry – gratuitously or at sharp discounts – at astonishing rates. Between 1997 and 1999, the agency created by the Defense Authorization Security Act conveyed 3.4 million orders of military equipment to over 11,000 local police agencies in all 50 states…”
~~~
And Now: The Rogue Websites Bill Introduced in U.S. House
October 27th, 2011
The “Stop Online Piracy Act” would target foreign websites for take down. I wondered what this actually meant, from a technical perspective, so I gave the proposed legislation a very quick look.
It turns out that the government wants to force U.S. Internet service providers to block access to the sites. There would be a ban list that the ISPs would have to enforce. The ISPs would also have to modify their DNS records to prevent the foreign sites from resolving:
A service provider shall take technically feasible and reasonable measures designed to prevent access by its subscribers located within the United States to the foreign infringing site (or portion thereof) that is subject to the order, including measures designed to prevent the domain name of the foreign infringing site (or portion thereof) from resolving to that domain name’s Internet Protocol address. Such actions shall be taken as expeditiously as possible, but in any case within 5 days after being served with a copy of the order, or within such time as the court may order.
This is, in effect, what China, Iran, North Korea, etc. do with their national firewalls. The difference with the U.S. version is that they would force individual ISPs to carry out the bans, rather than implementing them in a centralized way.
If you think that this is just about fake Gucci purses, just wait…”
http://cryptogon.com/?p=25713
We’ve a Problem..”Fascism” might be an accurate, enough, label..
October 28th, 2011 at 9:12 am
|-; econ thats a bit harsh … the police are doing their job (generally) … IT happens with conflicts
now if this flips opposite (visaversa) imagine what the banksters are capable of to protect self & stuff in their possession … we all know – we see it – when the status quo system is on their side .. work it out in a court of law / & pay up
“against all enemies both foreign and domestic” .. as an army photographer used a Canon camera to ….
kick the can down the road |-; still best way tho :-|
October 28th, 2011 at 9:45 am
“he will chase you if you run”
Sufjan Stevens – Seven Swans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99TCWaHmWKc
its a song about stopping destruction before it begins
October 28th, 2011 at 3:49 pm
OWS action agenda
http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2011/10/28