[vkou]

The same thing happened in Bellevue, WA, on the second night of the protests.

The protesters were in open communication with police and city officials. The protest was peaceful, the police did not start a fight, and neither did the protesters. The protest peacefully dispersed later in the evening.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away, what some might describe as a gang did a smash-and-grab at the (closed) Bellevue Square mall, grabbing merchandise off the store shelves, loading it into cars, and fleeing.

If the police wanted to pick a fight, they would have declared the situation a riot, and opened fire on protesters. They didn't, though.