For me that's the deciding factor to favor 'the protestors' even when that includes those who just want to loot or burn stuff. The police should be held to a m

For me that's the deciding factor to favor 'the protestors' even when that includes those who just want to loot or burn stuff. The police should be held to a much higher standard, considering the power they have. And it's not like, globally speaking, they haven't developed sophisticated methods of containing violence or rooting out the 'evil-doers'. The danger of police being unaccountable (unmarked vans, etc.) as well as unreasonable violent using 'less-lethal' weaponry, well, that's vastly more dangerous to a functioning state than a huge group of disparate protestors that include some violent extremists that, from what I can tell, for the most part haven't actually murdered or severely injured civilians. The police have. Of course, all that is assuming that the police generally does a wonderful job maintaining the peace. Considering that the whole reason for these protests and riots is police brutality, and rightly so, I find it difficult to be on the side of whatever the police are claiming to be doing. I've seen The Wire. I've seen LA Confidential. I've read articles. I've also personally experienced US police in action when I spent a few months in Texas, and it was upsetting. While I'm sure there's plenty to say about Dutch police, for example, if I am lost, or I need help, they're the 'helpers' that I approach. In Texas, I felt almost as scared of approaching the police as I did approaching the machine-gun wielding police I encountered in Sao Paulo. That just feels wrong. So however bad or exaggerated the particulars might be, it really does seem like the US police system is due for some serious overhauls. The police should be the guys representing peace and enforcing it, all the issues one might have with it aside. If it can't even do that and instead make a significant part of the population (much of it minority/black) fear their lives, that should be reason enough to demand change. No matter whether you're 'right' or 'left'.