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After serving two terms in Iraq unscathed a Marine veteran was brought down by the Oakland police Tuesday. Scott Olsen, 24, was among the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators who were attempting to re-establish their presence near a disbanded camp when the group was confronted by police in riot gear. According to the AP there were several skirmishes and the police responded by firing tear gas.
Olsen, discharged from the Marines last year, joined the demonstration to protest what he sees as the excessive influence exerted on government by banks and corporations. He was struck in the head by a police projectile, suffering a fractured skull. Witnesses who returned to the scene reported finding a "bean bag," a supposedly "non-lethal" crowd control weapon. Olsen was admitted to Highland Hospital in Oakland in critical condition with swelling of his brain and, while physicians would release no additional information they did say they were uncertain at the time whether he would require surgery.
Dottie Guy, of the Iraq Veterans Against the War said there will be a vigil for Olsen this evening near the city hall in Oakland.
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