I want to reiterate. I know some police made some mistakes violating rights & freedoms. They ought to be disciplined, but I dont believe in absolutes. If someone asks me to "pipe down" for example I dont think my freedom of expression has been silenced. In a similar vein i am not convinced police actions were gross violations. Look, Seattle WAS trashed. There are agitators with mental issues who hide in the masses. It was difficul that day to identify them because so many people were out looking for a vicarious experience. I estimate that 2% were potentially violent, 23% wanted protest within the law, and 75% were just there to watch. So the police had some trouble sorting people out. But no-one really suffered, and no-one deservs to get rich off this. If it becomes common place for anyone to successfully sue the city or police for these things, it will greatly embolden the 2%ers.
And to BurlOak's point - what about our responsibilities as citizens. There there precious few innocent citizens, the other 98%, trying to restain the 2% black block. Do you think anyone would've had the nerve to break a window if 98 people had scolded them - definately not!
All of us are guilty in focusing on our rights rather than our obligations. Lets not scape goat the police all the time. Anyone who was on tippy toes trying to take in "the action" was an enabler.