Iraq War Vet Injured During Oakland Protests
abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/iraq-war-vet-injured-oakland-…
By TERRY COLLINS Associated Press
OAKLAND, Calif. October 27, 2011 (AP)
A clash between Oakland police and Occupy Wall Street protesters left an Iraq War veteran hospitalized Wednesday after a projectile struck him in a conflict that came as tensions grew over demonstration encampments across the San Francisco Bay Area.
Scott Olsen, 24, suffered a fractured skull Tuesday in a march with other protesters toward City Hall, said Dottie Guy, of the Iraq Veterans Against the War. The demonstrators had been making an attempt to re-establish a presence in the area of a disbanded protesters’ camp when they were met by officers in riot gear.
Scott Olsen - Iraq War Veteran, moments after he was injured@OccupyOakland
It’s not known exactly what type of object struck Olsen or who might have thrown it, though Guy’s group said it was lodged by officers. Several small skirmishes had broken out in the night with police clearing the area by firing tear gas and protesters throwing rocks and bottles at them.
Police Chief Howard Jordan said at a late afternoon news conference that the events leading up to Olsen’s injury would be investigated as vigorously as a fatal police shooting.
“It’s unfortunate it happened. I wish that it didn’t happen. Our goal, obviously, isn’t to cause injury to anyone,” the chief said.
An Oakland hospital spokesman said Olsen, a network administrator in Daly City, was in critical condition Wednesday.
{PHOTO CAPTION} Occupy Wall Street protesters run from tear gas deployed by police at 14th Street and Broadway in Oakland, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Darryl Bush)
Later Wednesday, Oakland officials allowed protesters back into the plaza where their 15-day-old encampment had been raided but said people would be prohibiting from spending the night. The campsite itself was fenced off so it could be cleaned and treated with chemicals.
About 1,000 people quickly filled the plaza for a general assembly where speakers criticized city officials but urged the crowd to remain peaceful. Despite the pleas for order, a small number of people pulled down a section of the fence and the enclosure started falling like dominoes as others jumped on the downed pieces.
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