Scott Olsen by the Grace of God did not come home to his mother in a box after two tours in Iraq, but he will be going back to her with a fractured skull for engaging in his right of free speech in California. At last word he is awake and awaiting brain surgery, any updates please share.
Now thanks to the tidal wave of outrage generated by photographic evidence of the assault, the Oakland PD is being forced to take this investigation seriously. Let there be no mistake: the one and only reason this is not getting buried as yet another instance of police brutality in which nobody will be held culpable is that Occupy Marines and supporters across the world did not allow it. It is unfortunate that at one point things got out of hand to the point that the names and personal information of specific officers were being circulated across the Internet, and this is wrong. We are all innocent until found guilty, and as Troy Davis has shown, even then we may still be innocent. Please please do not use names in the comments. I'll delete the diary.
That said, the fact remains that if Oakland PD does its job, others will not feel they have to do it for them. ABC local reports:
According to San Francisco's ABC7 News, interim Police Chief Howard Jordan said Olsen's injury will be treated as a Level 1 investigation, which is the same as if police had used lethal force. A Level 1 investigation involves not only Internal Affairs, but the district attorney and the office of the Inspector General.
It seems only a matter of time before the shooter is identified by the official investigation, and serious charges leveled. Business Insider got hold of the training manual, and besides the testimony of Marines, other service members, and police who are trained in the use of tear gas launchers, it is clear as day:
b. The use of Direct Fired SIM must cease when the violent or destructive actions cease. These weapons must not be used for the purpose of apprehension or to otherwise prevent escape unless escape would present a substantial risk of continued imminent threat to loss of life or serious bodily injury.
c. Members shall only deploy Direct Fired SIM during a demonstration or crowd event under the direction of a supervisor. Oakland Police Department, 28 Oct 05 17
d. When circumstances permit, the supervisor on the scene shall make an attempt to accomplish the policing goal without the use of Direct Fired SIM as described above, and, if practical, an audible warning shall be given to the subject before deployment of the weapon.
e. Any person struck by a round shall be transported to a hospital for observation and any necessary treatment. Ambulance service, if required, shall be ordered per General Order I-4. First aid, when necessary, shall be administered per Training Bulletin III-K.
f. No member shall use Direct Fired SIM without formal training.
g. Direct Fired SIM shall not be used against a person who is under restraint.
h. Members shall not discharge a Direct Fired SIM at a person's head, neck, throat, face, left armpit, spine, kidneys, or groin unless deadly force would be justified
Departments are scrambling in CYA mode, with San Francisco Sheriffs begging off by saying their 37 deputies who were in Oakland did not carry tear gas, concussive grenades or any other type of explosive canisters. SFGate reports:
[SFSD spokeswoman] Hirst said one or two officers had Arwens, guns made by Police Ordnance Co. Inc. of Markham, Ontario, that fire cylinders meant to stun suspects and force them to comply. However, those weapons were not fired Tuesday night..
"One or two?" If I came back to my boss with a report on critical inventory and said "one or two" I'd be fired. They are surely signed for and returned, what's this "one or two?" We know one thing and one thing only: Scott Olsen did not shoot himself.
The president of the union representing San Francisco deputies weighed in with just alarm that people had been circulating personal information about a deputy. Not mentioned, at least in this report, was any outrage that Scott Olsen may never be quite the same, physically. Brain injuries of the kind which are common in Iraq, from taking an IED, are famous for resulting in problems like chronic headaches and worse. We pray that Scott will experience none of these. It's too bad he had to return to his own country to experience something similar.
But even the police spokesperson all but admitted the cause and effect between the online firestorm and the present Level 1 investigation:
Because of the online postings, Hirst said, the Sheriff's Department is investigating whether deputies were involved in Olsen's injury. The Oakland Police Department is also investigating the incident.
It will be up to the Oakland PD and the Alameda County DA to understand this will not be swept under the rug. We wait daily for the results of the investigation.
Perhaps the most important thing to come out of this is the bond forged between protesters and US servicemembers, Marines and others, when an officer threw a flash bang grenade into the middle of the protesters attempting to evacuate Scott as he lay bleeding from the head with police not lifting a finger, a clear sign that they were not finished shooting. One protester reports being hit with a rubber bullet as he helped carry Scott.
With one man down and badly hurt, where anyone could be next, and the police clearly trying to prevent anyone from helping him, the protesters would not leave Scott behind.
Marines never forget something like that.
"We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us."- Anonymous
Protester shot helping evacuate Scott:
From OccupyMarines Facebook:
A Call To Arms...As a Marine, I swore an oath to protect this
country and the constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic.
I never thought I would have to do in on the streets of America. The
right of this girl to publicly air her grievances is one of the
things I, and EVERY member of the armed forces swore to defend and I
don't remember there being an expiration date on that oath. I call
on our military, active or former, to stand by their word and defend
this girl and any others exercising their constitutional right to
free speech and peaceful assembly. IT IS WHAT WE SIGNED UP FOR..
OAKLAND MAYOR JEAN QUAN
phone: (510) 238-3141
fax: (510) 238-473
contact form
contact page
Nancy E. O'Malley, Alameda County District Attorney
1225 Fallon Street, Suite 900
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 272-6222.
info@acgov.org