Hart Van DenburgMore than 100 people were arrested in Oakland overnight as police raided an ongoing protest encampment.
Out of the raid, this video surfaced. It shows a bloody and stunned young man being carried away by protesters after being pelted in the head with an unknown object.
KTVU reports that officers “fired tear gas and beanbag rounds, clearing out the makeshift city in less than an hour.”
The video is peppered with obscenities and shows protesters throwing objects back at police while tear gas and explosions fill the street.
The man, Scott Olsen, is an Iraq vet and according to a friend who has visited him in the hospital, he is in “serious, but stable” condition.
It’s not clear what hit Olsen. Police say they used tear gas and bean-bag rounds.
Oakland’s interim police chief, Howard Jordan, said the tear gas was absolutely necessary.
“We were in a position where we had to deploy gas in order to stop the crowd and people from pelting us with bottles and rocks,” he told the LA Times.
But this video shows police apparently also used “flash-bangs” or stun grenades during the raid.
Mother Jones, which had two reporters on the scene, also reports that flash-bang grenades were used.
During a press conference, Oakland police deny using flash-bang grenades.
Question: Did the Police deploy rubber bullets, flash-bang grenades?
Answer: No, the loud noises that were heard originated from M-80 explosives thrown at police by protesters. In addition, Police fired approximately four bean-bag rounds at protesters to stop them from throwing dangerous objects at the officers.
