Occupy Mayhem! Woman dies from drug overdose at Vancouver camp while it emerges second U.S. army veteran beaten by police was NOT protesting

Weekend of violence and chaos across America

Vancouver mayor orders camp to be shut down after death of woman

Army veteran Kayvan Sabeghi was walking home when beaten by police

Three protestors at Occupy Washington 'deliberately' run over by car

More than 20 arrested at Occupy Atlanta and a dozen in Honolulu







A woman has died of a suspected heroin overdose at Occupy Vancouver as violence escalated at camps across America over the weekend, arousing concerns the protests may claim more victims.

The Mayor of Vancouver Gregor Robertson called for the camp to be closed down after the woman's body was found on Saturday. She was said to be in her twenties and found in a tent by another protestor. She was pronounced dead upon arrival at hospital.

On Thursday, a man went into cardiac arrest at the Vancouver site, also from a suspected overdose, but was rescued by a first aider until paramedics arrived.

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Chaos: A woman at the Occupy Wall Street movement is arrested by police officers during a protest outside the New York City Supreme Court on Friday where more than 20 were jailed

Occupy Denver demonstrators: People dance on a U.S. flag during the Occupy Denver protest at Civic Center on Saturday during a veterans day march

Calm and chaos: A man is arrested at the occupy Sydney event in Australia, left, while a young woman at Occupy Denver brings her baby along to the protest to make a statement



Mr Robertson said the city is considering a number of options that include a possible injunction to end the encampment but that they want to do it as safely as possible.

Meanwhile it emerged that Kayvan Sabeghi, the second Iraq war veteran beaten by police during the confrontations in Oakland, was not actually a protestor but was simply trying to make his way home after having dinner with friends.

The 32-year old was arrested and charged with resisting arrest and remaining present at a riot and was only hospitalised when he was eventually freed on bail, despite telling police he needed medical help.

Friend and colleague Esther Goodstal said Mr Sabeghi was simply trying to get home when he was encountered a line of police at the protest who wouldn't let him through.



'Literally, you (could) see his apartment,' she said. 'The police for some reason ... said, "No, you cannot pass".'



Support from all ages: A young protester dresses as a 'blood-sucking banker' in the downtown financial district of Los Angeles over the weekend

Resist: A man affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement is arrested outside the New York City Supreme Court on Friday

Disguise: A protester wears sunglasses and a medical mask at the Occupy Vancouver site in downtown Vancouver where a woman died on Saturday

Ms Goodstal said he tried to explain his situation and officers began hitting him with batons. he was taken to intensive care and had to have surgery for a lacerated spleen.



She said: 'I saw he had bruises all over his body, and that's not right. No one should treat another human being like this.'



Ms Goodstal said Sabeghi took part in an Occupy Oakland march to the city's port Wednesday but left when it was over.



'After that, he went out with his friend and had dinner,' she said.



A week ago, Marine veteran Scott Olsen, 24, suffered a skull fracture during clashes between police and Occupy Oakland participants.

On Friday in Washington D.C., three protestors were struck by a car while they were marching against a dinner held by Americans for Prosperity, a conservative free-market group affiliated with the tea party movement.

Mayhem: A young man is dragged along the ground after being one of the 20 arrested at Occupy Atlanta after refusing to leave a street blocked by protestors in front of Woodruff Park

Symbol: A protester affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement wears a Guy Fawkes mask which has become a symbol of the occupy movements

Alert: Police watch an Occupy Denver protest march through downtown Denver on Friday ready to take action

Police claim the protestors jumped in front of the car as the driver tried to navigate through the crowd, but witnesses who were part of the march said the car purposely sped up with the intention of hitting the pedestrians.

Heidi Sippel told CBS that she, her 13-year-old son and her wife Brandy Sippel were taking part in the demonstration when a silver Lexus sped toward them.



The driver slowed down, threw up his hands in apparent frustration and then drove forward, hitting them, she said.



Brandy Sippel, who is six months pregnant, was grazed by the car's rearview mirror. Heidi Sippel said she and her son were both hit by the front of the car.

Last night, police arrested more than 20 people after an Occupy Atlanta protest rally in a city park spilled onto the streets and officers converged on them on motorcycles, on horseback and in riot gear.

A crowd of several hundred protesters had gathered at Woodruff Park, the scene of about 50 arrests of demonstrators last month, and set up tents.



Organizers had said they planned to stay overnight despite warnings from the mayor and police that anyone there past the 11pm closing would be arrested.



But as 11pm approached, protesters began decamping peacefully. Dozens of officers were on hand, herding protesters away from the park's entrances and installing barricades around it. A police helicopter flew overhead.



While most protesters left the park, a few people stayed behind. And as demonstrators poured onto Peachtree Street and downtown, a police officer on a motorcycle drove into the crowd, sparking a confrontation between officers and protesters that turned tense at times.



Police officers in riot gear and on horseback filled the street, warning protesters to stay on the sidewalk.



The protesters shouted at the officers, chanting slogans such as, 'Shame! Shame!' and 'What about your pensions?'



A small group yelled more insulting things like: 'Put the pigs back in their sty, we the people occupy.'



Police made a number of arrests, mostly people who disobeyed orders to stay on the sidewalk.



