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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

 
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  • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 24 2016, @01:54PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 24 2016, @01:54PM (#432380)

    Rejected submission
    Update on Severely-Wounded Standing Rock Protester Sophia Wilansky [soylentnews.org]

    from the life-changing-injuries dept.

    The Standing Rock Medic and Healer Council reports [commondreams.org] via Common Dreams

    At around 4:30am [November 21,] the police [...] lobbed a number of concussion grenades (which are not supposed to be thrown at people) directly at protesters, or protectors as they want to be called. A grenade exploded right as it hit Sophia in the left forearm, taking most of the undersurface of her left arm with it. Both her radial and ulnar artery were completely destroyed. Her radius was shattered and a large piece of it is missing. Her medial nerve is missing a large section as well. All of the muscle and soft tissue between her elbow and wrist were blown away.

    The police did not do this by accident--it was an intentional act of throwing it directly at her. Additionally, police were shooting people in [the] face and groin, intending to do the most possible damage. Sophia will have surgery again [Wednesday, November 23] as, bit by bit, they try to rebuild a somewhat functioning arm and hand.

    The first surgery took a vein from her leg, which they have implanted in her arm to take the place of the missing arteries. She will need multiple surgeries to try to gain some functional use of the arm and hand. She will be, every day for the foreseeable future, fearful of losing her arm and hand.

    [...]A fund set up by friends and verified to help with Sophia's recovery is set up here. [gofundme.com]

    -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]

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