Iraq war veteran, who fractured his skull after he was apparently hit by a police projectile, still communicating via written notes

This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

Scott Olsen, the Iraq war veteran injured during police attempts to clear Occupy Oakland on Tuesday, has given a sign of appreciation for the wave of goodwill shown by fellow protesters across the US.

Olsen's roommate, Keith Shannon, said the 24-year-old gave a "thumbs-up" after being told of the support he has received – which has included vigils across the US and marches against police brutality.

Olsen, 24, suffered a fractured skull when he was apparently being struck by a police projectile on Tuesday and is unable to talk. Officers from more than 15 different police agencies were involved in operations in Oakland on Tuesday, which included the use of tear gas and 'less lethal' weapons.

Shannon said he had visited Olsen on Sunday, and told him of the reaction to his injuries across the hundreds of Occupy protests. "He gave a thumbs-up," Shannon said.

Olsen was hit on the right side of the head, damaging the speech centre of the brain. Video footage showed a police officer throwing a non-lethal explosive near to a stricken Olsen as fellow protesters came to his aid.

Shannon told the Guardian that Olsen is still communicating via written notes – although these tend to be short – and that Olsen's spelling has suffered since he was injured.

"He only really writes when he needs something," Shannon said. Olsen keeps a notepad and pen beside him on the bed to issue the messages, which often consist of just one word.

Shannon said his roommate is "still really tired", adding that during Sunday's visit: "At one point he wrote asking us to go out," so he could rest.

Shannon visited his roommate and fellow Iraq war veteran on Sunday afternoon, sitting at Olsen's bedside with his parents and sister, who have flown to Oakland from Wisconsin.

The injured 24-year-old was originally admitted to Highland hospital in Oakland on Tuesday night, but was moved to a different hospital on Friday afternoon, according to a spokeswoman.

"He left at 6.30pm," she said, adding that the move of locations was done "at the request of his insurers". He is understood to have been transported by ambulance, although there was no deterioration in his condition.

Shannon has not disclosed the new location, while Olsen's family have requested privacy and are not speaking to the press.

The activist and documentary maker Michael Moore posted a photo to Twitter of himself outside Highland hospital on Saturday, apparently unaware of the move.

Occupy demonstrators across America held vigils for Olsen on Thursday night, while in Occupy Oakland more than 500 people attended a march against police brutality on Saturday.

Demonstrators gathered at the base of Frank Ogawa plaza, outside Oakland city hall, to listen to speeches on the conduct of police in Oakland, which touched on infamous cases such as the shooting of Oscar Grant, killed by a police officer on 1 January 2009, protesters marched down Broadway towards the Oakland police department headquarters.

Police lined the street – which prompted chants of "No justice, no peace, fuck the racist police" – and prevented protesters from reaching the police department on adjacent streets.

About 30 protesters carried black plastic 'shields' at the front of the march with the slogan "Stop police brutality", and there were occasional solitary insults hurled at police, of whom Oakland mayor Jean Quan promised a "minimal presence" in a statement published to her Facebook page on Thursday.

About 100 officers were present in three separate locations, some with batons drawn, while others carried weapons capable of firing non-lethal projectiles, but there were no clashes between protesters and police, and the march ended without arrests.

On Sunday the mood was calm at the camp, which has now been largely rebuilt after the plaza was cleared by police on Tuesday, with about 40 tents and gazebos.

Among those gathered at the plaza was Jesse LaGreca, who rose to prominence as an occupier of Wall Street when a video of him criticising Fox News as he was interviewed by a Fox News reporter went viral.

LaGreca, who has visited ten Occupy camps in the last few weeks, had flown into Oakland on Sunday morning after asking readers of his blog to fund the visit.

"As soon as I heard the news on Tuesday, I was like: 'Get me to Oakland'," he said. LaGreca had soon raised enough, thanks to donations of "ten dollars here, a hundred dollars there" to buy a flight to California from Washington DC, where he had been speaking outside the Capitol, and a flight back to his home in New York on Monday.

Asked how Oakland compared with the Wall Street original, LaGreca told the Guardian: "They're almost synonymous.

"I've been through a lot [of camps], and I thought they would be really different. But they're not. It's the same story, it's just from different perspectives."