Posted on 11/28/2011 7:26:37 PM PST by SmithL
OAKLAND -- Scott Olsen, a Marine Corps war veteran who made headlines nationwide when he suffered a skull fracture in the middle of a violent clash between police and Occupy Oakland protesters last month, returned to Frank H. Ogawa Plaza Sunday to talk about his condition.
Olsen told authorities he was hit in the head by a tear-gas canister fired by police on the night of Oct. 25, but a probe of the incident by three teams of investigators is still ongoing, said Oakland Police spokeswoman Johanna Watson.
Sunday was the first interview the 24-year-old Daly City man has given since he was injured a month ago. He said he couldn't speak at all in the days after the fracture, but he is doing "much better" now. He wore a neck brace and had some difficulty talking.
What exactly happened on the night of Oct. 25 following the raid of the Occupy Oakland encampment at the plaza earlier that day still remains unclear, Watson said. Asked if Olsen possibly fell and was not hit with a tear-gas canister as he has claimed, Watson said,
"I have heard a lot of different possible ideas and I think an investigation will certainly bring a sense of what did happen. I don't know what happened,'' she said. "Once we know, we will address that in the most appropriate fashion. If it's actions of the Oakland Police Department we will certainly address that."
On the night in question, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, the CHP, the San Francisco County Sheriff's Office and the San Jose Police Department assisted Oakland police.
The Oakland Tribune requested that each agency provide the number of officers on the scene, what their role was, where they were stationed and if they used nonlethal weapons. Every agency responded to the request and none said their officers used nonlethal force. There have also been published reports that he was hit in the head with an object thrown by protesters.
Olsen said he didn't know at the time how he was wounded. But he said during an interview with Indybay.org on Sunday that he's now frustrated by the pace of the police investigation into who fired the tear gas canister he believes struck him.
He was not available for comment Monday.
Watson said the department's major crimes unit, internal affairs and Alameda County District Attorney's Office are investigating and a date for completion is not known.
"We would like to know as much as Scott Olsen would like to know: what happened and why it happened. We are looking at hours, and hours of video footage and want to talk to anyone who was there,'' she said.
Olsen was deployed twice to Iraq and became a rallying point for Occupy protesters nationwide after video surfaced of the bloodied man being carried from a crowd of demonstrators. People were upset that a man who gave to his country would be injured on American soil.
Remember, this guy is anti-Marines, anti-Israel, and possibly a self-promoter. If he is a member of IAVW, then add anti-American. This group is the modern version of the pro-Hanoi Vietnam Veterans Against the War (in Vietnam).
Not to be a cynic, but do we truly know this guy is a veteran? I was a veteran’s career counselor for a years and sadly ran into fakers all the time.
Yes..unfortunately he is. There were photos of this puke on base at Twenty-nine Palms iirc.
I’m sure Scott Olsen will sue the city in hopes of scoring big so he can start his own illicit drug business.
With a brain injury of his reported severity, the chances of his having any clear memory of the events is almost nil.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.