A mob is not smart, a mob is only brave when they have the numbers in it. We are not dealing with a well-organised organisation intent on making war with the government, we are dealing with construction workers on their off day after having a feel drinks, who felt compelled to show their inner unhappiness after one of their compatriots died in a very ugly manner.
If your daughter or your family members were at the mob's mercy while the SPF decided to tactically retreat, would you still say retreat is acceptable and safety first?
1) They were equipped with rioting shields in their car and batons are standard issue. What more do you need, tear gas and rubber bullets? They could have charged, but if they were unable to do so, they could have stood their ground to show that they will mantain law and order. As we all can see from the pictures, they stood their ground, at least a good hundred of metres away from their vehicles.
2) So we should keep our mouth shut because we are not policemen so we have no place to talk? So next time if the police beat someone up, we also cannot say anything because we were not present? If I put myself in the shoes of the policemen, I will feel ashamed, because they cannot live up to the ethoes of the SPF.
3) I do not see the need to invoke comparison with elite military forces which has absolutely no connection to the matters at hand. This is a domestic issue, it should be compared with other police forces, not the top commando teams in the world. Furthermore, the commandos you mention are well-trained and have different rules of engagement, so your comparison doesn't make sense.
Nobody asked them to be rambo, we only asked them to stand their ground to show they were able to protect lives and property in the vicinity. Sadly, that was not the case, the ran so far away that the ah neh were uninpeded from burning ambulances and police cars.
I believe what they were taught in academy was find cover and call reinforcements, not run away to find cover, even beyond the effective range of their guns as the police have explained to us.
To run is easy, anybody can run, you can run, I can run, you tell me other than the wheel-chair bound, who cannot run? If all we needed we runners, why do we even need the police force, when any man on the street will do.