Occupy tensions high after vet's skull fracture

(CBS/AP) 

Updated at 11:27 a.m. ET

OAKLAND, Calif. - Anti-Wall Street protesters filled a street with a late-night march Wednesday and Oakland's police chief pledged a vigorous investigation into an earlier clash between police and protesters that left an Iraq War veteran in critical condition with a fractured skull.

Police Chief Howard Jordan spoke as tensions grew over demonstration encampment in the Bay area.

"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 at an afternoon press conference.

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.

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Oakland police spokeswoman Cynthia Perkins said many officers were assaulted, doused and hit with hazardous materials, large rocks and bottles Tuesday night, CBS News station KPIX-TV of San Francisco reports. Perkins said this resulted in a declaration of an unlawful assembly. To enforce dispersal orders, officers used less-than-lethal force tactics, she said.

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.

An Oakland hospital spokesman said Olsen, a network administrator in Daly City, was in critical condition Wednesday.

(At the 0:20 mark in the below video, a man the YouTube user who posted the video identifies as Olsen collapses. Protesters rush to the man's aid and then scatter when an officer's flash-bang grenade explodes. Warning: The video contains graphic language.)

KPIX-TV reports that Olsen joined the Marines in 2006, served two tours in Iraq and was discharged in 2010. He moved to California from Wisconsin and works as a systems network administrator in Daly City, according to a press release from Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Olsen's mother, Sandra Olsen, who lives near La Crosse, Wis., told WISN-TV she and other family members plan to fly to California Thursday to be with her son.

On Thursday morning, at least one tent was back up in front of City Hall. Television news footage showed the tent and a handful of people in the plaza.

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Oakland officials allowed protesters back into the plaza outside City Hall Wednesday where their 15-day-old encampment had been raided the day before, but said people would be prohibiting from spending the night.

About 1,000 people quickly filled the plaza, but later many of them filed out and began marching down nearby streets.

A reporter at the scene says police erected wooden barricades to block the march, but the protesters veered off as a group and continued down another street.

There were no signs of clashes between the two sides.

It wasn't immediately clear how many people were left in the plaza, where some had vowed to spend the night.

"I'm going to stay here tonight," said Jhalid Shakur, 43, of Oakland. "I don't have a tent, but I'll sleep on a bench if there's space."

"We're about to build our city back," he said.

Mayor Jean Quan said Oakland supports the protesters' goals but had to act Tuesday when a small number of them threw rocks, paint and bottles at the police.

"We had, on one hand, demonstrators who tried to rush banks, other demonstrators saying don't do that, and we had police officers, for the most part, 99 percent, who took a lot of abuse," the mayor said. "So yesterday was a sad day for us."

Jordan said an internal review board and local prosecutors have been asked to determine if officers on the scene used excessive force. He asked witnesses with recordings of violent interactions between civilians and the officers who came from several Bay Area agencies to submit them to investigators.

The clash Tuesday evening came as officials complained about what they described as deteriorating safety, sanitation and health issues at the dismantled camp.

Oakland City Administrator Deana Santana said protesters would be allowed to assemble in the plaza outside City Hall from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. She pleaded with those who planned to make another stand there to refrain from smashing windows, lighting fires and attempting to stay overnight.

"If we could have these simple, reasonable requests, we think we can assure safety in the streets tonight," Santana said.

The same concerns were being raised by San Francisco officials who warned protesters Wednesday that they could face arrest if they continue camping in a city plaza. In a letter, Police Chief Greg Suhr said the protesters could be arrested for violating a variety of city laws against camping, cooking, urinating and littering in public parks.

"Existing and ongoing violations make you subject to arrest," Suhr wrote in the notice, but didn't say if or when arrests would occur.

Police have taken down a previous Occupy San Francisco camp in the Justin Herman Plaza and also cleared another camp outside the Federal Reserve Bank downtown.

Late Wednesday some of the San Francisco protesters, estimated to be about 200 people, had their arms locked and were practicing trying to keep police from entering the perimeter of their encampment.

Police estimated at least five protesters were arrested and several others injured in the Tuesday evening clashes.

[greco99-2009]

Shooting a tear gas canister directly at an individual is an incorrect and improper use of very dangerous weapon -- done intentionally it is attempted murder or murder.

Throwing a concussion grenade at rescuers is perhaps worse, it contributes to the serious of a potentially grave injury and is intended to terrorize people, including innocent rescuers and aid givers.

I believe there will be criminal charges and civil lawsuits against the cowardly officers who did this - these officers disgrace their profession in front of the entire world.

Moreover, I think there is significant responsibility that lies with the police supervisors here. There appears to be overarmed and under-trained officers, officers without jurisdiction, and other tactical problems. Finally, it appears that a police spokesperson told deliberate lies in a public briefing following the event. These supervisors and the spokesperson should be held accountable and at the least should lose their jobs.

[greco99-2009]

I don't think the streets of Oakland (or any other US city) have beendesignated a free-fire zone. And, let's keep it that way.

We have a situation where a few people may have committed a misdemeanor.

[greco99-2009]

To be sure, most officers are good - and police work is a public service. But, it is a few bad apples that have disgraced themselves, their departments, and their profession. The video of that grenade toss has been watched by hundreds of millions worldwide - and that grenade toss is seen as a disgusting and uncivilized act. We saw a similar behavior in NYC when Anthony Bologna sprayed mace on three women who posed zero threat.

[cream_bar]

hey San Diego --

Just how deep do you believe,
Will you bite the hand that feeds you?
Will you chew until it bleeds?

Can you get up off your knees?
Are you brave enough to see?
Do you want to change it?

[jamaicajeff]

Make sure to wear your motorcycle helmet at these rallys as the cops love to shoot non lethals like tear gas cannisters into crowds of people. Hurts to take a direct hit from one like our Iraqi Freedom vet. I guess he is finding out where the real war is happening now. Too bad he won't get any medals for taking the hit.

[sandiegopete]

One of the major problems leading to these public demonstrations is that we, along with the rest of the world, are in a transitionary period from a national based economy to a global one. Our country has exported a substantial number of worker tasks to foreign countries and has increased its reliance on imported goods while increasing the exportation of raw materials. That means the wealth of our nation, including mineral and financial wealth, is flowing to foreign countries. In the long term this situation must result in a decline of the national economic health and lead to a continued downward trend of the quality of life in the U.S.

Instead of working on solutions to the challenges of globalization our business and government leaders seem to think it is still the 1900s.

[arthanyel]

by EmpireGeorge arthanyel, they have student debt, because they borrowed the money instead of paying for it, not because of anything a rich person did....nobody forced them to get a worthless political-science or liberal arts degree and then incurr debt as a result....and wonder why nobody's hiring them....what part of excess is their responsbility, running up credit cards, buying stuff they can't afford...these are all choices, that hurt them in the end.

----- cut here -----

They HAVE to borrow money because they CANNOT afford a college degree otherwise, that is the entire point. And speaking from painful experience, if you do not have a college degree you will NOT be hirable as an executive in any major company, or get hired on Wall Street, unless you start the company yourself. And the point about crony capitalism is still valid - if your daddy and his college buddies run Goldman Sachs, you get a job there. If you have a degree from some cow college and no connections, it's virtually impossible.

Completely agreed, if someone gets a worthless degree they should have no expectation of employment.

What part of "excess" is their responsibility? 100%. Spending money you can't pay back is on your own head. And making bad choices should come home to roost.

[arthanyel]

Another solid response, thank you. Not in order:

I also know many successful people without degrees, but they got there (like I did originally) but starting my own business, or by getting hired by a personal connection that waived the requirement. It is still the case, however, that in the modern job market you don't even get consideration unless you have a degree in many companies - and a young person certainly isn't going to get a job on Wall Street without one.

It is completely true that the founders assumed there would be inequalities because people are naturally smarter or dumber, better leaders or followers. I also agree with that completely. And it is completely valid that, if you will pardon the expression, the cream will rise to the top. Not everyone can be, or should be, an executive, or wealthy.

Completely agree the higher the unemployment the stiffer the competition for the jobs that are left. As it should be - its supposed to be a free market.

That said, the vast majority of OWS protestors are NOT complaining that there are rich people, they are NOT trying to avoid responsibility for their own actions, and they are NOT blaming others for their life choices. They ARE protesting the game is rigged. They ARE protesting that the "one man one vote" has become "one dollar, one vote" which gives an unfair advantage to corporations and the rich. And they believe that the boom and bust cycles we thought we killed after the Great Depression are back because we stopped regulating and investigating the fraudulent practices of some financial institutions.

And I believe they are right to do s.

If they were protesting that we won't bail them out from buying an iPhone with a two year contract, then I would say screw 'em. But they aren't saying that.

[greco99-2009]

Arthanyel - you are making excellent points. Accurate, consistent and well-written. Thank you !!!

[arthanyel]

by EmpireGeorge: To Clarify, there are some taxes, those you mentioned, that are shared by both the employee and the employer....not sure how you can say that falls on lower income people.....rich people don't need or use Social Security or Medicare....so why are you surprised their portion is limited?

----- cut here ----

I accept your apology.


These taxes fall disproportionately on lower income people because there is a cap on the maximum amount o f income that is taxable, AND because they are taken out and paid for BEFORE any calculations about "income" are made - so even the poorest working poor person that gets 100% of their INCOME tax refunded pays all these taxes.

As for your contention that there is no reason to expect the rich to pay for these services because they don't need them, you have our country confused with a libertarian paradise like Somalia. In this country, every pays for shared services whether you use them or not. You pay for schools whether you have kids or not, so you will have educated workers to hire. You pay for roads whether you use them or not so there will be ways to move your goods to your buyers. You pay for unemployment insurance as insurance if you are unemployed - whether you ever ARE unemployed or not. I, for example, have never taken unemployment payments because I have never needed them.

If you want to be in a libertarian country, where you only pay for things you personally need, please move to one. America is a constitutional Republic.

[arthanyel]

Thank you for an intellectual response.

I am not saying it is disproportionate because there are more poor people than rich people. Is is disproportionate because of the cap. A poor person pays almost 10% of their total income in payroll taxes. A rich person pays a tiny fraction, for two reasons:

One, the maximum cap means that as their income goes up, the percentage of their total income paid in payroll taxes goes down

Two, a signficant portion (in some cases, all) of a rich person's income is capital gains, which is not subjected to these taxes.

There could well be a tax code revision proposed that took off the maximum income cap on payroll taxes while lowering top tax RATES and that would be reasonable.

So have we now achieved mutual understanding?

[arthanyel]

by intelgent : anyone who advocates and/or encourages the bloodshed of anyone exercising their constitutional right to free speech and assembly is un-American.

----- cut here -----

Hear hear! No truer words have been spoken.

[arthanyel]

EmpireGeorge: Twisting things to fit your narrative rather than rresponding to what people actually said is a political skill - are you a politican?

Intelgent didn't say that violent protestors can't be touched. He said what he said - which is 100% accurate, and if you disagree with what he SAID, then you sir are un-American.

[noloyalisti]

It turns out that in America the less you make the more you pay of your income. That is the twisted and backward way the Top 1% like it. And now you know why there is the 99% Movement.

[noloyalisti]

No one in America made their money on their own. The Top 1% and everyone else used out public libraries, public roads, public education, public utilities and other services, etc. etc. So the more you make the more you should pay, simple. Who would be agains that?

[arthanyel]

Good point. And rich people get rich from money paid to them by consumers, most of whom are NOT rich - no rich person would be rich without poorer customers.

[noloyalisti]

There are only two kinds of people out there. Those who are part of the 99% and those who have not figured out that the 1% are raping and pillaging their wealth just like everyone else.

I mean who would be against equality, fairness, good social programs including education for all, medical care for all and protecting the environment that sustains us all?

[arthanyel]

Unfortunately, noloyalisti, many conservatives are against most of that. Check out the TED article on the values of conservative minds vs liberal minds - conservatives don't value fairness and equality.

That's why I ask for comment on things like Glass-Steagall - if someone has an objection to it, what is it? Because the only reason to block it is if they are a tool of the 1%.

[arthanyel]

Goofy_McJohnston; Who is already paying for it? We all are. We pay for public education. We pay for medical care, either through programs, insurance, or through jacked up rates by uninsured using emergency rooms. We already pay for the damage to the environment, both directly and indirectly, and that damage could eventually kill us all.

Very few people (and certainly not OWS) are suggesting we should take the rich's money and distribute it to the poor. What most of us are saying is that we want everyone to be playing by the same rulkes, and today they aren't. We want everyone to contribute to society, and today many aren't. We want everyone to have equal access to the American Dream and today they don't. And we want to insure that America remains the #1 nation on Earth, and if it keeps going the way it's going now (we are tied for 94th with Iran and Nigeria for income equality)we won't be.