(Image Source: Flickr/celesteh)

BY SARAH NG AND STEVEN SPARKMAN

ANCHOR CHRISTINA HARTMAN

An Iraq War veteran sustained a brain injury and fractured skull while participating in Occupy Oakland-- sparking a national debate over Oakland police officers’ use of force.

CBS explains what happened to veteran Scott Olsen.

“As Olsen laid injured on the street, a cop appears to lob a tear gas canister in the midst of the group that was trying to help him. Olsen’s injury and the crackdown at Oakland triggered a march of solidarity at Wall Street.”

Reports say Olsen was hit in the head with a tear gas canister. On Friday, doctors upgraded his condition from critical to fair.

He’s now become an icon for protesters, with Twitter users and protest websites taking up the slogan “We are Scott Olsen.”

Earlier this week, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan(we need a pronouncer for this)  praised the police for “peacefully” clearing the camps. But as public pressure mounts-- MSNBC reports the mayor seems to have softened her stance toward the protesters.

“Meanwhile Oakland mayor Jean Quan has taken heat for allowing police to clear out the occupy camp. She was booed last night as she tried to take the stage and speak in front of the city’s general assembly. She then posted a statement on her Facebook page. ‘I have started investigations into the use of tear gas and potential violations of our use of force policy.’”

Officials say the protesters were attacking police with rocks and beer bottles, prompting the crowd control measures. But a spokesman for the National Lawyer’s Guild says those measures were excessive and broke the department’s own rules.

“The police violated just about every provision of their own Crowd Control Policy last night … Demonstrators were shot with rubber bullets and shot-filled ‘bean bags’. All of this is prohibited under the Policy that we helped write and under which all OPD officers and commanders are required to be trained.”

That policy was crafted after another incident in 2003, when police used crowd control measures to break up an Iraq War protest. A writer for Mother Jones explains, the department has a history of controversy.

“This isn't the first time the Oakland Police Department has been accused of excessive force. After demonstrators filled the streets of downtown Oakland in June to protest the death of Oscar Grant, the young black man shot and killed by a BART transit officer in 2009, the National Lawyers Guild filed a lawsuit accusing Oakland police of violating its crowd-control policy.”

Occupy Oakland has announced plans for a November 2 general city-wide strike on its website.