Condition of Marine shot in the head is improving

Scott Olsen still needs surgery, upgraded to fair


Oakland – A two-tour Marine veteran of the Iraq war, Scott Olsen was working days and marching nights at Occupy Oakland protests when a tear gas projectile fired from a policeman's shotgun cut him down.

He hovered near death from the swelling of his brain caused by a fractured skull until early today, when he began to breathe on his own without the assistance of a respirator. Doctors have upgraded his condition from critical to fair.

His parents and many friends arrived at the hospital to keep a vigil at his bedside as he struggles to remain alive. His injury will still require a cranial operation, according to neurosurgeons who are treating him.

The shooting has prompted a review of the Oakland Police Department's policies and performance, according to that city's acting Chief of Police and Mayor.

Violence rocked the city earlier this year after a police officer shot and killed a man who had been arrested for disorderly conduct as he lay face down with his hands restrained behind his back.