Once again, late last night, as is becoming a too-regular nightly ritual, after the 11p news was over, police moved in again to violate the Constitutional First Amendment right “of the people peaceably to assemble.” And, for the second night in a row, late last night in Oakland, CA, it resembled a war zone as police in riot gear unleashed a punishing onslaught of “non-lethal” flash-bang grenades, rubber (and or bean-bag) bullets and tear gas — hour after hour, round after round — injuring demonstrators, including women, the disabled, and even Iraq War veterans…
Unlike the police in Albany a few nights ago, where they defied orders from NY’s Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo to arrest demonstrators, and more like Chicago, where the police followed the advice of Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel to break down the demonstrations over the weekend and haul more than 175 in, the Oakland Police Department, with the approval of Democratic Mayor Jean Quan, unleashed a punishing assault on those gathered “to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
The results were horrific, according to video, photos, and eye-witness reports as it all happened and was reported on Twitter, including this scene appearing to show a member of Veterans for Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War knocked out by either a concussive grenade or a tear gas canister or another projectile, and being carried away…
“It’s terrible to go over to Iraq twice and come back injured, and then get injured by the police that are supposed to be protecting us,” his roommate, Keith Shannon, also 24, who served alongside Olsen as a Marine in Iraq, told the Guardian in a late follow-up today.
Other scenes were similarly gruesome and, yes, shameful…
Demonstrators were shot with rubber bullets in the face…
…and in the back…
According to this eye-witness, a woman lay unconscious in the streets, as he watched “a flash-bang grenade explode right in her face”…
The actual scene believed to be discussed above can be seen in the last 30 seconds of this video from KTVU (which is not embeddable).
Update: The incident appears to be the one in which Olsen was injured. Here is better, very disturbing, video of the flash-bang grenade being hurled into the group of demonstrators who were attempting to render first-aid…
There were, of course, moving moments as well.
The protester in a wheelchair being evacuated amid the onslaught of police tear gas…
A man in a sailor’s uniform, standing off with police, waving the Veterans for Peace flag and a copy of the U.S. Constitution…
And, as one Twitterer noted:
The morning before, at 4:30am or so on Tuesday, the Oakland Police Dept. had also moved in to disburse the peaceful demonstrators of the Occupy Oakland protest using similar methods. As dawn broke, Mayor Jean Quan (D) issued a statement lauding the cops for their efforts to “peacefully close the encampment” and “Chief Jordan for a generally peaceful resolution” to “maintain safe or sanitary conditions” at the demonstration area.
As the scene was once again repeated late last night — and was anything but “safe or sanitary,” there was no statement from the Mayor. Sources in San Francisco said she was en route back from Washington, D.C., as her city came apart at the seams.
There was no breaking coverage on CNN, Fox, or MSNBC, as a major U.S. city began to resemble a war zone in a third world nation, though President Barack Obama made a delightful appearance to smile and joke about dastardly Congressional Republicans and helping to save demonstrators in Libya on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night. The West Coast broadcast of the show ran disturbingly at the very same moment Oakland was erupting in tear gas, grenades, and cries for help from its citizens…
After arriving safely back at home, Alternet’s Joshua Holland, covering the events on scene for much of the night, tweeted:
On Wednesday, protesters vowed to return. “As soon as these barricades are moved, hundreds of people are going to come back. These actions by police were wrong, but they’re just going to strengthen the movement,” one of those arrested and injured by “baton-swinging police” told AP today.
Now might be a very good time for the President of the United States to remind his fellow elected Democratic and Republican officials alike that they may wish to go back and review the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. It’s one of the better ones.
Or, he can just wait for #OccupyDNC2012 to try and do so. That worked out very well in 1968, after all.
UPDATE 3:56p PT: According to UK’s Guardian, the injuries to two-tour Iraq veteran Marine Scott Olsen are likely to prompt an official inquiry:
I wonder if this is what food riots will look like.
Fascist forces have their bombs bursting in air and flags in the morning mist, but they are missing out on the understanding of what America is all about.
This is frightening. I witnessed this kind of repression in South America. History has changed. The United States has traditionally trained and funded fascist movements and deatch squads in Latin America, while having a semblance of democracy within the United States. That has changed. Clearly the fascist entities running the United States are not only willing to electronically rig elections and loot US taxpayer wealth, they are also willing also spill American blood for their objectives.
Note that our incompetent mayor, who originally told these people they COULD camp there, contrary to the city’s written laws, and even joined them for a time, had conveniently left town to do some “lobbying in D.C.” when all this went down. Admittedly, I did have some concerns about the encampment: (1) It’s public land and they were denying access to anyone who did not agree with them (2) They had set up their own security outside of the city’s laws and jurisdiction and were internally creating their own brand of justice, which could at some point spin out of control given that their laws were largely unwritten (3) There was clearly a sanitation issue since they had no access to our city’s sewer and sanitation systems; rats were gathering to join the party which in time could create a public health problem (5) The taxpayers pay property taxes–yes this includes me–to maintain the park in habitable condition for public use. It will in time become a monetary public burden to upkeep and clean up after their encampment.
This having been said, though, the police overreaction was an absolute outrage and will solve no constructive purpose. The camp will regroup and come back. They will be able to outlast the public funding necessary to continue having the police forcibly and brutally keep them out. Instead we needed to have a competent mayor that sets consistent policy with give and take so that they can stay within the written laws of our city and the police do not have carte blanche to go on a rampage. This was handled badly by the city on every level. As a resident, I would like to express my condolences to anyone hurt in these actions and hope that given my concerns we can come to some understanding about what makes sense to allow and not allow in our public access areas. If Oakland were an unincorporated area, things might be different, but if we are to remain a democracy here, all citizens of our city must be able to have a say in how our shared lands are used.
Recall Jean Quan! She’s a disaster! Worst case! I would rather have had the perennially corrupt Don Perata as mayor. At least he seemed to have some sense from time to time.
The cops show up in Sacramento at about 11 PM every night (midnight Fri & Sat). Last night they had 23 police vehicles and 35+ officers. We’ve seen as many as 40 vehicles and 65+ officers on some nights. They arrested 4 more last night (79 total now). Small change compared to Oakland. Luckily, no real police violence yet (although the situation inside the jail is different). The first 20 occupiers that were arrested on Oct 6th had their court appearances today.
As with the Egyptian military, law enforcement officers can refuse orders to attack non-violent protesters.
That would be true heroism.
A whiff of police neutrality would also change the behavior of banksters and their pet politicians more than almost anything I can imagine.
I hope Mr. Olsen fully recovers from his wounds, as I hope for the full recovery of anyone wounded in the Oakland attack. Whoever thinks “public health” is endangered by peaceful protest ought to balance that against the threat to public health posed by “nonlethal weapons” on American streets, especially when those “nonlethal weapons” put people into ICUs.
Scientists are now joining the OWS movement, because e=mc/2 and the plutocracy will stop at nothing, nothing!
greenwald is right..we screwed up when we let ford pardon nixon
btw google no longer allows access to raw story
Mitch, I wholeheartedly agree. This should never have happened! It is beyond an outrage! Having allowed and invited the encampment at the start, the city should have allowed it to remain until which time a negotiated agreement could have been put together to ensure public health and safety, addressing the city’s citizen concerns, without violence, repression, and brutality. I hope you are not implying that I think this action was okay. I do not! I did have some concerns about the encampment from the day it began and feared what might eventually happen. What actually happened was far worse than I imagined, an absolute war zone. I, too, wish for full recovery, in both body and mind, of all who were harmed in this brutal and unnecessary raid. My 5-yr-old son and I joined the Oakland march last Saturday. I support this movement’s cause and believe the grievances expressed to be absolutely legitimate and defensible. I think many of these people now also have legitimate legal claims against our city’s police force. Their actions helped nobody and greatly harmed many. It was absolutely unacceptable! I am furious at my city’s leadership to have ordered this action and for the way it was carried out.
I was pleased to see that, despite this vicious assault, Occupy Oakland held fast to the principles of non-violent civil disobedience. In doing so, they demonstrated the movement’s moral superiority.
When this type of state-sanctioned violence was unleashed in the South against the 60s civil rights movement, it triggered a response investigations by the RFK Justice Department, even FBI and national guard interventions.
So where is the Holder Justice Department? What, if anything, do you intend to do about this flagrant violation of civil rights, Mr. Holder?
Oh, and Brad. Keep the videos coming. People need to see what is happening.
I wouldn’t hold my breath for any action from the “Justice Department”. Holder et al are far too busy these days shutting down the pot clubs to pay any attention to civil rights violations.
I guess we should thank these “Dim” leaders for outing themselves before we vote for them again.
THEY ALL NEED TO BE REPLACED!
With real democrats.
S
Yes, Suzan, replaced with real Democrats or with independents like Bernie Sanders — anyone who stands on the correct side of the ordinary citizen/corporate America divide.
That excludes almost everyone who places an (R) at the end of their name.
… karenfromillinois said
More recently George W. Bush and his junta were pardoned by Nancy Pelosi.
I wouldn’t be surprised if that malware Rawstory’s been harboring is related to my erroneously being linked to trolls on RawStory, banned from commenting, and slandered by email cc to several members of Rawstory.com staff, then further banned for questioning Rawstory’s credibility. Rawstory practices authoritarianism, suppression of self-expression, intolerance towards questioning their authority, and assuming guilt on innocent people themselves while hyprocritically reporting against it.
KatieB
If so, and I believe you, their behavior sure seems misguided. Of course, police violence was definitely a more extreme abuse of authority than what you describe. That is why a system of checks and balances is great for governance since that forces everybody — EVERYBODY (even Rawstory)– to maintain their perspective and refrain from hypocrisy and abuse of authority.
Remember, Jim Jones of Jonestown mass suicide/murder notoriety was a progressive activist too before founding his cult. Cults of personality and abusive authoritarianism happens in all areas of the political spectrum.
Adam8 (unjustly banned and slandered by Rawstory.com)
Brad’s tweet is prescient:
So long as the movement remains peaceful in the face of their violence, its moral superiority and the just nature of the OWS cause will come to the fore. 4 Polls That Show Occupy Wall Street is Just Getting Started
From AlterNet’s Matt Stoller:
Could it be police provocateurs who did the bottle throwing to set this off? Is there video of the bottle throwers?
I’m not certain, Michael G, that the Oakland PD claim that this vicious assault was preceded by bottle throwing has been independently verified, let alone who in the crowd allegedly threw them.
There is always the risk of a provocateur.
What is clear is that CA law enforcement understands the potential lethal force that can be inflicted by a tear gas projectile.
Recall that, on “Aug. 29, 1970, while covering the National Chicano Moratorium against the Vietnam War, the 42-year-old [L.A. Times reporter Ruben] Salazar was killed instantly by a sheriff’s tear gas projectile while he sat in an East Los Angeles bar.”
The projectile had been fired from outside the bar by an L.A. County Deputy Sheriff.
The phrase, “The Whole World is Watching” is more than a slogan.
The police assault on Occupy Oakland was covered by al Jazeera.
I hope someone posts contact info for the Oakland PD, the mayor’s office and all the council folks so the world can weigh in. I also hope every single person who was present files a citizens complaint with the PD. Use the bureaucracy against itself!
I am hoping at some point soon that there will be a “snapping point” where enough is enough and the crowds of protesters swell to not a few thousand but a few MILLION.
Then it is over for this type of nonsense.
Also each Reich wing storm trooper should start to be weeded from the crowd of Cops, handcuffed to a light pole and shot with his own “non lethal weapon” until he begins to understand he is out numbered 100,000 to 1.
Hey Dredd, speaking of science …
http://www.newscientist.com/art...tml#bx283545B1
I hope the veteran Scott Olsen and all protestor’s sacrifice helps people to realize the hypocracy that we are a free democracy and people continue to unite peacefully in the face of brutality for real change.
The elected City government in Oakland is simply not in control of the police and it has been this way for many years.
adam said,
and then “re pardoned” by the pres..yes adam that was what i meant
as to the occupiers starting this police brutality mess in oakland by throwing bottles? i will believe that when i see the video
The person pushing the wheelchaired person is a veteran and friend of Scott Olsen. Jordan Towers, follow him @jtowersSF. Good friend and amazing person.
I don’t believe for a minute that any of the people in the OWS encampment were throwing bottles at 4:30AM in the morning against a force of 200 multi-municipal riot-gear-outfitted “law enforcement” officers. (I put that in quotes because I do not believe at that point they were enforcing any kind of law and order.) Jean Quan invited and accepted the encampment regardless of any laws on the books. The police, had they any courage in this, should have refused their orders to brutalize these people and simply said, “This is Jean Quan’s problem now. She must deal with it on her own, with diplomacy. Any consequences she suffers due to her ineptitude are her own doing.” Had Jean Quan been doing her job, she would have not let this spin out of control in the first place and set specific guidelines on the amount of force the police were allowed to use in enforcing the laws on the books and make it clear to the protesters what they were allowed to do if they wished to remain lawful, and what the consequences would be if they chose not to. NONE OF THESE CONSEQUENCES should have involved the firing of anything, beating down of anyone, or spotlighting helicopters in the air. Repeatedly kindly poking awake with “You can’t camp here” from 10 PM to 6 AM, and a suggestion that community communes might have more longevity at one of the many buildings the banks have foreclosed on and left to rot in Oakland may have been enough. Then again maybe not, but at least the city of Oakland, using a fair and consistent policy, wouldn’t now have inflicted such a fascist black eye upon itself and a young man might not be fighting for recovery in the hospital.
BTW–I don’t usually go on and on like this. Thank you Brad for giving me a forum to vent my furious anger over this whole escapade. Quan’s first attempts at trying to pin the blame on everyone else with “I was out of town” and then giving that mealy-mouthed Facebook apology just fanned the flames of my furious anger toward my city’s so-called leadership today.
Scott Olson, Highland Hospital,1141 E. 31 St, Oakland CA 94602-send him a get well card.
There is some sort of Cointelpro operation of sorts going on here, it’s going to take some time
to figure out the details of who and what. Scott Olsen just got caught in the crossfire and almost got killed in the process by the OPD assination team and whatever elements are involved in this.
The video is a Zapruder film of sorts and I’m not sure what it’s purpose was.
You guys know that the “peaceful” protesters were throwing rocks, bottles, and bricks at the police before the tear gas started right?
Don’t believe me, here’s a like to an MSNBC interview where one of the protesters admit it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHlHiNEZ1wA