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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
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 24 2016, @01:35PM
I guess we'll have to wait and see what the analysis of the shrapnel removed from her body reveals.
Rule of thumb:
1 Cops lie
2 There is no 2
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday November 24 2016, @02:33PM
1 Cops lie
So do protesters.
Once again, This [bearingarms.com] looks bad for her story since the police appear to have several home-made bombs in their possession. They even found blood on one of the propane tanks.
And it's quite suspicious that we don't have video evidence of police using such grenades. Supposedly the protesters were live streaming the whole thing. Where's the video clip of grenade use?
Finally, I see repeatedly the accusation that this was due to a concussion grenade, which are intended to kill people, instead of stun grenades (flash bangs) which aren't. How did that show up at the protest?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 24 2016, @03:13PM
I find this very interesting. I was brought up to view the police as government thugs that were intent on depriving me of my liberties any chance they got. Perhaps my folks weren't as right-wing as I had thought. It's amazing to me that the zeitgeist among right-wingers now is to absolutely trust the police 100%. Seemingly gone is the idea of “Am I being detained? Am I free to go?” I suppose a protest is a bit different after all, and that wouldn't apply. I'm more thinking about the general attitude instead of specifics.
I remember listening to a shortwave broadcast of Mark Koernke and his family being assaulted during what I think was a traffic stop iirc. Just the audio.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday November 24 2016, @03:48PM
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday November 24 2016, @03:51PM
Essentially, there is no difference between a flash bang and a concussion grenade. The term flash bang is used by police forces to minimize the potential lethality of their weapons. The packaging and labeling is different, but I suspect that military concussion grenades and these flash bangs come off of the same assembly line, built with the same components, assembled by the same people and robots. Bottom line is, an explosion at your feet is likely to knock you off of your feet, so that opposing forces can rush in to capture and/or kill you and your comrades.
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday November 24 2016, @04:08PM
Essentially, there is no difference between a flash bang and a concussion grenade.
Sounds like there is a big difference of explosive power. The concussion grenade is packed with enough to kill people who just happen to be nearby. The other is designed to be pretty non lethal.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday November 24 2016, @05:34PM
And - you base this assumption on what, exactly?
http://www.theagitator.com/2011/03/09/swat-officer-killed-by-non-lethal-flashbang-grenade/ [theagitator.com]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stun_grenade [wikipedia.org]
https://archive.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2002/04/51760?currentPage=all [wired.com]
""If you've got the device in your hand, or against your chest, back or head, and it blows up, what you've done is set off a small bomb in close proximity to your body," said Mark Grubelich, researcher at Sandia National Laboratories and creator of the new device."
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Friday November 25 2016, @01:45AM
The concussion grenade is packed with enough to kill people who just happen to be nearby. The other is designed to be a bit less lethal.
Since you're only going to throw it at enemy combatants. See offensive grenade [wikipedia.org].
It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Thursday November 24 2016, @02:50PM
So do protesters and extremists - but I'm certainly not suggesting that she is the latter.
I am not interested in knowing who people are or where they live. My interest starts and stops at our servers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 24 2016, @02:51PM
Or maybe cops have been know to lie when they need to
but sometimes they don't need to.
In this case, there should have clear evidence to sort it out.
The stuff removed from the lady's arm should support one story or the other.
I find it hard to believe that there are not many video's of the encounter from each side as well.
If both sides are not producing these, then maybe both sides were pushing things past where they should.
What are the limits?
An unarmed mob on one side of a line defended by cops on the other side.
As long as the mob stays on their side of the line, the cops should just watch.
If the mob tries to cross the line, then the cops should be expected to respond with proportional violence.
If the mob becomes armed, then unfortunately, the answer has to be same answer.
This is a near impossible set of operating rules.
For example what do you do when a few folks from one side act violently and then hide in the otherwise peaceful crowd.
Do you respond as if the whole crowd was violent?
No. You switch to more creative tactics like the water cannon and hopefully a bunch of cameras to hold folks accountable later.
I wonder if that says that wearing a mask on either side should be considered something over the line?