That’s one way to look at it. Another is that, rather than truly outrageously throwing the book at these protesters, the worst they got was a massive inconvenience.
Now, I’m not trying to downplay getting arrested - even brutally so. I have been arrested at protests by some nasty pigs who beat the shit out of me, and I have spend nights in jail as a result. I know how bad that shit sucks.
What I’m saying is that it’s what they signed up for. And if they want to protest police brutality, go do that, too, but don’t act all shocked that this happened.
Edit: in an ideal world, protesters would be treated with dignity and respect— but if we lived in an ideal world, there would be no need to protest.