“They look like punks that are taunting the police. Can’t the police clear the area?”
The police are between a rock and a hard place. If they flex some muscle to disperse the hood rats, all hell will break loose, and they’ll have a full scale riot on their hands.
If they back off too much, they’ll have a full scale riot on their hands. It’s one helluva balancing act for them.
That’s called a staged diversion.
You nailed it. Awful situation.