Scott Olsen, marine wounded by Oakland police, in ‘critical condition’

10-27-2011 • RawStory

Update (below): Scott Olsen has been upgraded to “fair condition.”

In a video published early Thursday morning, ex-Marine Scott Olsen, the 24-year-old who suffered a fractured skull in Oakland on Tuesday night and is currently in “critical condition,” is seen standing peacefully in front of a police barricade next to a uniformed sailor just moments before officers deployed chemical agents to disperse the crowd.

While the video does not show what hit Olsen, it suggests that he was shot in the head by a tear gas canister at near point-blank range. Olsen did not appear to be provoking officers, who’d repeatedly announced their intent to disperse what they’d declared an “unlawful assembly.” Others speculated that he was hit by a beanbag round fired from a shotgun.

Either way, the aftermath of the blow he sustained was severe. Photos of the scene are grisly and not for the squeamish.

Occupy Oakland Tuesday October 25 from Raleigh Latham on Vimeo.

The video below is from Vimeo user Raleigh Latham. It shows several perspectives on the attack on Olsen and how police responded when fellow protesters tried to help him.