Yeah, they used to use nightsticks too.
Imagine if you will, a fellow camper videotaping the "brutal assault" of "a guy vacationing with his family" .
"It was horrible, they beat the hell out of him with sticks".
Old style policing included a good dose of beatings.
I'd rather be beaten than killed, generally speaking.
BTW, police don't use nightsticks any more?
That's an excellent point, and one of the results the ACLU has "bought" is more shootings like this.