Oakland Police Used 'Overwhelming Military-Type Response' Against Occupiers

A woman pauses in front of a memorial for Scott Olsen, an Iraq veteran who was severely injured during a standoff between Occupy Oakland and Oakland police, near the Occupy Oakland encampment on October 27, 2011 in Oakland, California. Former U.S. Marine and Iraq war veteran Scott Olsen remains in the hospital after he was struck in the head with a projectile during a standoff with Oakland police on Tuesday evening. Two days after police evicted Occupy Oakland protestors from their Frank Ogawa Plaza encampment, protestors have begun to move back into the plaza and are setting up tents. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

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.

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. More...