I’d say they’re in a pretty tough spot. I certainly wouldn’t have the patience to be the punching bag of a bunch of assholes who are so sure that if they were in charge, things would be better... I guess that’s why I’m not a cop.
Maybe multiple cases are being conflated here. In the case of the cab hauling the FedEx trailers where one attacker got caught in a rear wheel, the truck had stopped, but multiple people climbed onto the cab and tried to break in while members of the crowd shouted, "set it on fire!".