I am, in general, not a defender of the police. The reasons for that belong on another thread.
But here I will defend them. The cops in this instance are greatly outnumbered. And I’m sure they were given orders to minimize the use of force. If either factor were not present, I would be critical of the police.
But both factors are present. So I’ll direct my criticism to the mayor and governor instead.
Protect and serve= Cut and Run.