by HPR Contributor | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | News | November 22nd, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
cshagen@hpr1.com
The woman who nearly had her arm blown off Sunday night at the Backwater Bridge standoff is in stable condition, according to the Standing Rock Medic Healer Council.
Sophia Wilansky, 21, from New York, was hauling drinking water to activists near the front line when a concussion grenade thrown by law enforcement hit her left arm and exploded, according to medic reports.
Law enforcement denies the accusation, claiming a Coleman propane explosion wounded Wilansky. “There was an explosion behind in the protester area, we don’t know where it came from but it wasn’t law enforcement,” Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said.
“These statements are refuted by Sophia’s testimony, by several eyewitnesses 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,” the Standing Rock Medic Healer Council press release stated.
The explosion destroyed Wilansky’s radial and ulnar arteries, and shattered her radius, according to medic reports.
“All her 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,” Wilansky’s father, Wayne Wilansky, said.
Medics also claimed police were shooting people in the face and groin areas, intending to cause as much damage as possible.
“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,” Wayne Wilansky said. “There are no words to describe the pain of watching my daughter cry and say she was sorry for the pain she caused me and my wife. I died a thousand deaths today, and will continue to do so for quite some time.”
Injury reports stemming from Sunday night and early Monday morning’s standoff at Backwater Bridge climbed to 300, according to medic reports. “These 300 injuries were the direct result of excessive force by police over the course of 10 hours. At least 26 people injured had to be evacuated by ambulance to three area hospitals.”
Some of the additional injuries included an elderly man who lost consciousness, but was revived, a young man who suffered a grand mal seizure, a woman who was shot in the face with a rubber bullet, a young man shot in the abdomen by a rubber bullet who was vomiting blood, a young man shot in the back near the spine by a rubber bullet, and multiple fractures, according to medic reports.
Law enforcement said late Monday night they received no reports of any activists injured.
During a press conference, Kirchmeier added that Backwater Bridge is deemed unsafe, that the trucks were purposefully left blocking the Highway 1806, and investigators will not inspect the bridge until activities have calmed down.
“We can use whatever force necessary to maintain peace,” Mandan Police Chief Jason Ziegler said. He stated the use of water on activists in sub-freezing temperatures was necessary, and that law enforcement would use the same tactics again.
“It was effective, wasn’t it?” Ziegler said.
April 17th 2019
April 17th 2019
April 17th 2019
April 17th 2019
April 17th 2019
__293px-wide.jpg)
After nearly two and a half years since the people of North Dakota voted to pass the Compassionate Care Act into law in the state, medical marijuana is finally available to patients. Only one dispensary is open right now, but seven…
It was an, “aha,” moment, said Jeremy Jensen. A woman had her vehicle towed into the Fix It Forward Auto Care shop in Moorhead. Jensen and fellow Fix It Forward Auto Care co-founder Matt Carlson had the vehicle on a hoist…
Thursday, April 18, 5-9 p.m.Drekker Brewing Company, 1666 1st Ave N, FargoThe folks at Drekker have partnered with a handful of area artists and the Lend A Hand Up program. A program providing help and hope to families facing…
In 2016, the Rand Corportation’s National Defense Research Institute published a year-long study looking at potential consequences for transgender members to serve within the U.S Military. This study looked at seven different…
The Nordic ModelDr. Thea Hunter, a graduate of Columbia University and an adjunct professor of history at a number of elite colleges and universities, recently died at age 63 of extreme capitalism—and asthma—because of lack of…
Well shiver me timbers. After weeks of sampling some of the finest drinks in F-M from more bars than we could shake a belaying pin at, the results of High Plains Reader’s 6th Annual Cocktail Showdown are in! For nine weeks,…
After three years Jon Beyer aka “Jonny B” has become the face and the beard behind Jonny B’s Brickhouse in Jamestown North Dakota. Besides the largest selection of craft beers between here and Bismarck, wood-fired pizzas and…
By Gary Usseryusseryg@gmail.comFYB. Three letters, three words, well known by the guys who make up Cascades, and anyone who is a fan of the five-man band. When asked what genre best describes their sound, I was bombarded with at…
Harmony Korine keeps a tight grip on his title as one of the most critic/critique-proof filmmakers of recent times with “The Beach Bum,” a sultry companion piece to 2012’s memorable “Spring Breakers.” Not without its own…
“I started to look around at state arts council positions because I felt that even though I had never done that, I felt like it would be a really good blend of skills, so I started to look around in 2016. A few jobs came up but I…
Countless examples can be found throughout the history of great art that was only recognized as such after the life of the artist that created it. Such is true of Georges Bizet’s opera "Carmen." While its reception during his…
Stand-up comedy is traditionally a one-way exchange. Outside of the odd question addressed to a random audience member, the limit of the spectators’ contribution to the conversation is their laughter at the comedy stylings being…
By Gabrielle Herschgabbyhersch@gmail.comThink & Drink is coming to Fargo! Organized by Humanities North Dakota, Think & Drink is a happy hour series that hosts a facilitated public conversation about big issues and ideas. Lead by a…
I’m a big man, I’m tall and powerful, but this also causes some issues in the body department. I suffer from acute scoliosis in my lower back, and pain radiates from this area on a daily basis. I have only ever had one massage…
by HPR Contributor
by Devin Joubertdevinlillianjoubert@gmail.comIt’s that beautiful time of the year that’s filled with seasonal decorations, sparkly lights, warm family gatherings, and delicious feasts. I love everything about this time of the…
It seems like the threats to North Dakota’s Badlands never cease. Let’s go back and revisit Wylie Bice. He’s the rogue, rich, rancher up in Dunn County, on the eastern edge of the Badlands, who’s built himself a private…