Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Thursday November 24 2016, @11:24AM   Printer-friendly
from the disproportionate-force dept.

Snopes reports

On 20 November 2016, the Dakota Access pipeline protests reached new proportions when an ongoing demonstration turned into a violent [assault on protesters by] law enforcement officials.

Pipeline protesters say 21-year-old Sophia Wilansky was critically injured when she was struck with a concussion grenade thrown by Morton County sheriff's deputies while she was handing out water. As a result, she has been hospitalized and now faces the prospect of having her left arm amputated.

On 21 November 2016, Wilansky's father, Wayne Wilansky, [...] told reporters that she may need as many as 20 surgeries and that, aside from her arm injury, Sophia had welts all over her body from being shot by rubber[-coated steel] bullets, and that it took hours for an ambulance to reach her because of roadblocks.

Heavy.com continues

A statement from The Standing Rock Medic & Healing Council stated:
"Sophia was heading to bring water to the unarmed people who were being attacked for several hours by Morton County Sheriff forces. The Morton County Sheriff's Department has stated that she was injured by a purported propane explosion that the Sheriff's Department claimed the unarmed people created.

"These statements are refuted by Sophia's testimony, by several eye-witnesses who watched police intentionally throw concussion grenades at unarmed people, by the lack of charring of flesh at the wound site, and by the grenade pieces that have been removed from her arm in surgery and will be saved for legal proceedings."

Snopes also notes:

A total of 26 protesters were hospitalized and more than 300 were injured.

Previously:
Water Cannons Used in Sub-Freezing Temperatures at Standing Rock


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 24 2016, @12:24PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 24 2016, @12:24PM (#432358)

    Well, there's this one

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/23/standing-rock-dakota-access-pipeline-sophia-wilansky-injury [theguardian.com]

    and this one

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/11/22/activists-and-police-trade-blame-after-dakota-access-protester-severely-injured/ [washingtonpost.com]

    So I would think a reasonable person might conclude that the cause of the injury is unconfirmed. I know it is in vogue to jump to rash conclusions especially regarding anything having to do with police violence, but maybe wait until more facts come out instead?

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   +1  
       Informative=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   1  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 24 2016, @12:41PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 24 2016, @12:41PM (#432359)

    So the fact that they pulled grenade pieces out of her arm during surgery just went right over your head?

    I know it is in vogue to jump to rash conclusions

    You're talking about yourself here, but you're probably too stupid to realize it.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 24 2016, @01:01PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 24 2016, @01:01PM (#432367)

      Unless the attending doctors are intimately familiar with the ordinance use by the police, I don't think they are qualified to state exactly where it originated from, let alone being able to differentiate a flashbang from an exploding propane tank.

      Here's an example of a flashbang.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4VJaNVHa88 [youtube.com]

      Note the lack fragments in the wall. They are mostly paper.

      Further, as police state they did not use any such devise, it will be easy to catch them in a lie as every single piece of ordinance has a paper trail and a reclamation form to follow.

      I know it is easy to work yourself into a frenzy, but you might try a bit of critical thinking instead.

      • (Score: 2) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Thursday November 24 2016, @02:18PM

        by Scruffy Beard 2 (6030) on Thursday November 24 2016, @02:18PM (#432386)

        From that video, it looks like just the shock-wave can kill you if you are close enough to it.

    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday November 24 2016, @03:45PM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday November 24 2016, @03:45PM (#432422) Journal

      You're missing one very important question. Actually, two. Who determined that the fragments were from a grenade? And, was that person qualified to make that determination?

      If we were to learn that the doctor who removed the shrapnel was an Army, or Navy surgeon, familiar with grenade fragments, then I would tend to believe that he knew a grenade fragment when he saw it.

      If the doctor is some backwoods doctor, with a degree from Podunk U, he would have a credibility issue.

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by mhajicek on Thursday November 24 2016, @06:19PM

    by mhajicek (51) on Thursday November 24 2016, @06:19PM (#432488)

    The police have proven repeatedly that they do not deserve the benefit of the doubt. Police lying, planting and falsifying of evidence, excessive violence, and coverup are systemic.

    --
    The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek