Occupy Oakland California violently attacked by police - protestor in critical condition

Like in Sydney and Melbourne the authorities in the U.S. are increasing the level of violent repression of the Occupy Movement. This has had tragic consequences in Oakland California where a 24 year old Iraq war veteran Scott Olsen was hit in the head at point blank range by a tear gas cannister. Guardian article. The Youtube clip below shows a crowd being fired on with a stun grenade attempting to come to Scott's aid.

Indybay.org: Hella Occupy Oakland | Occupy Oakland

Earlier in the day on the 25th of October, police had cleared the Occupy Oakland camp. For an account of this brutal raid, read this World Socialist Web article.

During the morning raid and then later in the day when protestors attempted to retake the park, 85 people were arrested but police used concussion grenades, rubber bullets, tear gas and sonic cannons on the group injuring many. The Youtube video below clearly shows the level of force used during this police riot. Another Guardian article

Battle for Oakland begins with police raid 25/10/11

Within fifteen minutes of having rolled up on Broadway and surrounding streets in large convoys, over 500 police officers in riot gear were positioned around Oscar Grant Plaza ready to storm Occupy Oakland. Oakland police took the lead but were backed up by sixteen other police departments.

Several occupiers linked arms at the edge of the barricades in the front of the plaza, where a two-week birthday celebration had been held for the occupation just twelve hours earlier.

Shortly after the police line approached the front entrance to Oscar Grant Plaza, at least one occupier came up from behind the others and discharged two small fire extinguishers in the direction of the police line. Before the nitrogen cloud from the extinguishers reached police at its maximum still-thick expansion point, police responded by firing projectiles and tear gas shells and hand-lobbing at least one flash-bang grenade over the barricades. Due to the direction of the slight breeze at the time, and what appeared to be police CS shells placed into a tube to focus the direction of the gas by an occupier, the tear gas police had released wafted back toward the police line, at which point they put on gas masks under their riot helmets.

As police moved forward and began to disassemble the barricades on the Broadway and 14th Street sides of the plaza, occupiers moved deeper into the plaza, many leaving the plaza through an escape route on the opposite side of the plaza that police had left open temporarily. Once the barricades were removed, police marched through the camp tearing down tents, knocking over shelving, and pulling down almost everything that stood in the plaza. Police closed their encirclement of the plaza on all sides and announced that those who remained were under arrest.

Over 70 people were arrested within the plaza during the raid, several reporting that they were shoved down to the ground and hit with batons before they were handcuffed and transported to either North County or Santa Rita jail. Within twenty minutes from the time police first fired into the camp, the occupation site was flattened, the plaza was cleared of all occupiers, and police began to disperse. The video here includes the entire raid through the last person who was recorded being arrested on this side of the plaza.

Source: San Fransisco Bay Area Indymedia

The crackdown in Oakland follows a violent crackdown earlier in the week in Chicago. As the WSWS article points out both of these cities have Democrat Mayors. Go Obama's Democrats!

There has virtually been a media blackout on this state crackdown in the Australian press although it has been covered in other countries - witness the Guardian articles.

The struggle for a more equal, peaceful and sustainable world continues. Occupy!