They were armed. They were pissed. And there was a landslide of them. The police managed to sytop the whole thing after a day, with one heavy wounding and a number of light injuries to the protestors. This means that there are less violent, less brutal, more effective ways of stopping riots.
Rioters get what they give.
But be aware some do abuse the badge. The government tells you when you can have peaceful demonstrations. The police moved in during peaceful demonstrations and beat the fuck out of normally peaceful people. That was when the shit hit the fan. That caused the Seattle riots in the first place.