Just because someone isn't attacking the police, doesnt mean they're being peaceful. If others are pelting police with rocks and bricks and the police now deem the gathering to be unlawful, everyone has to leave the area, even if you didnt throw anything. A lot of times they dont and they have to be cleared. Police aren't out here just randomly attacking people carrying signs.
To get injured like that? Probably not. To agitate the police and get a reaction. Possibly. I don't know why you think that's so crazy. It happens all the time.
So what are they supposed to do. Stand there and continue to get pelted? Let people destroy things?
Being just about as old as that old man, and being stronger, and better with balance than he (based on how he fell), i would guess that he wouldn't want to risk even a planned fall, because if he'd have landed with a certain amount of force on the wrong part of his head, he could have died. It didn't look even remotely like he deliberately let himself fall. No 75-year-old that I know would deliberately fall backwards onto cement or concrete in order to "get a policeman into trouble", or, for that matter, for any other reason. And he's tall, too. His head had a long way to come down. If he had fallen backwards on purpose, he'd have instinctively tried to cushion the fall with some twist and attempt to brace himself, or avoid hitting his head straight on. Saying he did that on purpose is ludicrous.
Well generally the violent protesters throwing things are standing behind hundreds of people. Also would like to know what innocent peaceful protesters were beat with batons?
