Would you go into these riots without ammunition?
No live rounds ... yeah
Right, it’s a terrible idea. Start with tear gas and pepper balls and rubber bullets if necessary. Have the real thing on standby just in case.
A gun without ammo is just a club.
IIRC there was riot in Cal where they went with no ammunition, just less than lethal, gas and so forth. The next day there was a scramble in Sacramento to send the real deal.