Re: 8 minutes 46 seconds
I'm not sure the 8 minutes 46 seconds is relevant, it's the fact he was (reportedly) unconscious for several minutes of that. (I haven't actually watched it, because I don't really want to watch someone being killed).
Regarding the video your reddit link references, my assumption was that the police didn't try and capture him because they were holding position and consciously avoiding aggressive action against the protesters. They may have feared that trying to arrest him would result in the crowd responding violently, and losing a corner of pavement was preferable for both sides to a pitched battle.
Even when the protesters thrust him at the police, they were using their batons as a barrier. No attempt to strike the protesters. Which is nice to see, and rather better than the police behaviour in many other videos.
The reason I don't like using that video as a reference for peaceful protest is the "Get the white people. The fucking white people" racism evident within it. "Get the idiot twat taking apart the pavement" would be a reasonable response but no, they had to bring race into it.
That said, this woman is absolutely marvellous:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4buxiLIQT8
Biting the hand that feeds IT
