OAKLAND, Calif. — Mayor Jean Quan announced on Wednesday that an independent investigation into police conduct during the raid on Occupy Oakland in late October. Thomas Frazier, former San Jose Deputy Police Commissioner, is slated to lead the probe.
The investigation will focus on police tactics and alleged brutality that led to the arrest and injury of many protesters, including the critical injury of Scott Olsen, an Iraq War Veteran. Olsen, who has become a symbol of the Occupy movement in the wake of the raid, led a protest of more than 1,000 people at the port of Oakland last week that virtually shut down cargo traffic to and from the port.
Video of the raid, where chaos and loud blasts reigned, have garnered thousands of views on Youtube and have garnered calls for an investigation in the past few months. Part of the inquiry will look at whether the city’s crowd control policies had been followed, and whether officers from other cities were operating under their own policies or that of Oakland.
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