Use of Force Criticized in Protests About Police Brutality

As protests grip the nation, officers have doused crowds with pepper spray, struck protesters with batons, steered police cars into throngs and shoved demonstrators.

Some action has been directed against people smashing windows, breaking into stores and burning cars, but many find other instances more difficult to understand — like the elderly man knocked over by police as he walked with a cane on a Salt Lake City sidewalk.

The protests began after the death of George Floyd while he was in the custody of Minneapolis police.

Now, some are questioning whether tough police tactics against demonstrators are actually making the violence worse rather than quelling it.