01-05-2012, 08:17 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-05-2012, 02:57 PM by Keith Millea.)
Getting a little rowdy in Oakland.
http://www.livestream.com/occupyoakland
Published on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 by Common Dreams Oakland Police Used 'Overwhelming Military-Type Response' Against Occupiers: Report
Court ordered monitors 'thoroughly dismayed by what we observed' at Oakland Police Department
- Common Dreams staff
Oakland police used "an overwhelming military-type response" to disperse Occupy Oakland demonstrators and fired at a former Marine and Iraq war veteran who was critically injured in the clashes in October, according to a court ordered report released Monday.
Members of the Oakland Police department form a line duringat Occupy Oakland demonstration, January 28, 2012. (Photo: Reuters / Stephen Lam)
The Oakland Police Department has been under investigation by third party monitors since 2003 after reported misconduct and repeated use of unlawful force. The department came under renewed scrutiny during last year's Occupy Oakland protests that saw large amounts of police brutality; Oakland police received more than 1,000 misconduct complaints during the protests.
In the most televised case, peaceful protester and former US marine Scott Olsen was shot in the head with what is now reported to be a 'beanbag round', causing severe brain damage.
This latest court ordered report now concludes, for the first time from an official source, that police did fire at and hit Olsen that evening.
"We have viewed many official and unofficial video clips of the Occupy Oakland-related incidents," the report said. "These recordings lead us to ask additional questions as the level of force that was used by OPD officers, and whether that use of force was in compliance with the Department's use of force policies."
The third party report author Robert Warshaw wrote that he was 'thoroughly dismayed' by many actions taken by the Oakland Police Department in response to the Occupy protests.
"Stagnation is troubling. After nine years, more progress should be made," John Burris, one of two attorneys who brought a civil suit a decade ago that led to court oversight, told Reuters. "We must seriously explore the next step."
http://www.livestream.com/occupyoakland
Published on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 by Common Dreams Oakland Police Used 'Overwhelming Military-Type Response' Against Occupiers: Report
Court ordered monitors 'thoroughly dismayed by what we observed' at Oakland Police Department
- Common Dreams staff
Oakland police used "an overwhelming military-type response" to disperse Occupy Oakland demonstrators and fired at a former Marine and Iraq war veteran who was critically injured in the clashes in October, according to a court ordered report released Monday.
![[Image: 120501-oakland-3a.photoblog600_0.jpg]](http://www.commondreams.org/sites/commondreams.org/files/imagecache/headline_image/article_images/120501-oakland-3a.photoblog600_0.jpg)
The Oakland Police Department has been under investigation by third party monitors since 2003 after reported misconduct and repeated use of unlawful force. The department came under renewed scrutiny during last year's Occupy Oakland protests that saw large amounts of police brutality; Oakland police received more than 1,000 misconduct complaints during the protests.
In the most televised case, peaceful protester and former US marine Scott Olsen was shot in the head with what is now reported to be a 'beanbag round', causing severe brain damage.
This latest court ordered report now concludes, for the first time from an official source, that police did fire at and hit Olsen that evening.
"We have viewed many official and unofficial video clips of the Occupy Oakland-related incidents," the report said. "These recordings lead us to ask additional questions as the level of force that was used by OPD officers, and whether that use of force was in compliance with the Department's use of force policies."
The third party report author Robert Warshaw wrote that he was 'thoroughly dismayed' by many actions taken by the Oakland Police Department in response to the Occupy protests.
"Stagnation is troubling. After nine years, more progress should be made," John Burris, one of two attorneys who brought a civil suit a decade ago that led to court oversight, told Reuters. "We must seriously explore the next step."
"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.â€
Buckminster Fuller
Buckminster Fuller