Oakland Cops Shoot Two-Tour Marine Iraq Vet in the Head

Hey Americans... the cops in Oakland are calling your bluff.

Photo credits: DailyKos.com

(OAKLAND, Calif.) - Third Battalion Fourth Marines took another casualty this week, but it wasn't in Helmand province, or Anbar; it was in the streets of Oakland. The city's police, itching for a fight, shot Corporal Scott Olsen, a two-tour Iraq Marine Veteran, in the head.

There is no honor in shooting unarmed protesters, and there is no honor today at Oakland P.D. Every member of their ranks taking part in attacking the protesters gives up their rights as decent moral people and the tide will turn, that is guaranteed, and those who thug out and shoot Marines (or anyone else) will be brought to justice. There is no other answer, one way or another it will happen.

Personally, I like the idea of multi-faceted justice. They are calling our bluff, but there are far more of 'us' than 'them' and while these cops might make a hundred grand a year, they aren't part of the corrupt core of America that possesses 99% of our national wealth. Still, they and all others who criticize OWS (Occupy Wall Street) and call for its end, which will not happen they way they want it to, are part of the one percent.

This country's greatness is a big ruse anyway, whatever was good about it is dead and the trash has to be hauled out. News like this, about the Marine being shot, breaks my heart. But it makes me look forward to the day, and it probably isn't far away at the rate we're going, where crowds will initiate the wealth redistribution process in whatever way is necessary. It will be an interesting time to report the news, as it increasingly is these days.

The mayors and police chiefs will look back at this time and remember that they stood at a crossroad; their names will become something they wish they didn't have if they don't side with the people. With 99% of America on their ass, somebody absolutely will catch up with them.

This behavior of Oakland 'police' is already world news; most know they already carry a soiled reputation for their abuse of citizens, but city officials are overlooking the fact that the police attacks only attract larger crowds, and the people of California are serious, they go full bore when they have to, not a weak willed bunch at all.

Another view of Marine Scott Olsen - shot by Oakland cops who traded bloodlust for honor.

A CS grenade, and two 12 ga shotgun shells purportedly used by the police to propel the beanbag bullets. #OccupyOakland

We watched jihadists from all over the Middle east flock to Iraq and Afghanistan to fight the Americans, that is because they knew what this country was doing to the civilian population of a sovereign nation that didn't lift a finger to hurt the U.S. ever. Who is right and who is wrong in that scenario? The American government operated from bad information, the amount of damage from a single presidency has the world in a spiraling course.

So now the U.S. government wants to bring the war to Oakland, why am I not surprised that the city that saw the Black Panthers rise up against police racism and brutality would be the place? God bless the spirit of resistance there, it is all that matters and today Oakland is the battlefield and the police are the enemy of the people. They need to stand down, but they won't, and neither will the OWS movement. No way, it took a long time, but thanks to the strong willed people in Tunisia and Algeria, Bahrain and Egypt; who set the stage and gave their lives to bring change, the revolution in the US in now on, complete with police shootings.

There will be more, and there is an endless line of people who will pick up what those shot and killed drop. It requires that, I always remember my good friend, fellow Marine Vet and writer, Ken O'Keefe, quoting the June 1964 speech of Malcolm X: "The price of freedom is death. If you're not ready to die for it, put the word 'freedom' out of your vocabulary."

The spirit of resistance has not been this alive in years, and I think of the song Generation Palestine and Code Rouge

From: Generation Palestine and Code Rouge

Now in Oakland, more Marines, more Army, Navy and Air Force vets, more activists, more people willing to put down the ballot and pick up a stone.

The cops with their tear gas launchers, just like the war criminals of the Israeli Defence Forces, shooting people in the face! Come on! This is the End of the Road kids, as Agron Belica aptly named his song. It isn't going to keep going like this, the people and the powers of government and police can work together, but the choice has to be made now, it is fleeting.

It all came to a head Tuesday evening at 5:00 p.m. when Occupy Oakland gathered at the foot of the Oakland Library on 14th Avenue, before setting off on a march past the jail and onward to Frank Ogawa Plaza.

Their news release states: "The peaceful gathering swelled as it marched through downtown, growing upwards of 1,000 people strong. Along their route were police from 17 jurisdictions in California, decked out in riot gear and weaponry."

Then just before 8:00 p.m., the police began throwing concussion grenades and tear gas directly into the crowd, injuring several nonviolent protesters.

"Weapons were aimed and fired at people as they attempted to help the injured and bring them to safety. The crowd reconvened a block away and continued to peacefully occupy the streets outside the plaza. For several hours this scenario was repeated as citizens tried to gain entrance to the plaza while the police held their line using 'non-lethal' rifles, tear gas, and barricades."

If the police ever call something non-lethal, they are lying to you. Every item in their inventory is potentially lethal, or painful, or wound inflicting. They lack discipline and display a mean streak toward their fellow citizens by policy. That means they are working against the people by design of their herders, the politicians.

Oakland Spends Millions in Attack on Occupy Protesters, Closes 5 Schools Next Day

The city of Oakland now has invested several million dollars in their campaign to shut down free speech in Oakland.

The Oakland Unified School District was set to vote today on whether or not to close down 5 schools: Lakeview, Lazear, Marshall, Maxwell Park and Santa Fe.

Where it goes from here remains to be seen, but it is clear that police are wasting no time escalating the violence, they won't win with those tactics and people are keeping score. David Letterman joked about how people are sick of the sounds of drums on Wall Street from the protesters, then he said, "remember ladies and gentlemen, the problem is when the drums stop".

Special thanks to Karin Rougeau for help with this report.

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Tim King: Salem-News.com Editor and Writer

Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines.

Tim holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Silver Spoke Award by the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (2011), Excellence in Journalism Award by the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs (2010), Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), First-place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several others including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Tim has several years of experience in network affiliate news TV stations, having worked as a reporter and photographer at NBC, ABC and FOX stations in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Tim was a member of the National Press Photographer's Association for several years and is a current member of the Orange County Press Club.

Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website. As News Editor, Tim among other things, is responsible for publishing the original content of 91 Salem-News.com writers. He reminds viewers that emails are easily missed and urges those trying to reach him, to please send a second email if the first goes unanswered. You can write to Tim at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com