1) Peaceful protest
2) Police decide that they need to use extreme amounts of force to break up the peaceful protest
3) Unsavory elements use the cover of the ensuing chaos to loot/burn/tag/etc.
1) Peaceful protest
2) Unsavory elements started throwing things at the police
3) The police didn't respond with violence even though clearly attacked and provoked
We have problems with race profiling and other issues but I think the big focus on de-escalation in police training helps a lot to avoid the situation we see in the US.
1) Peaceful protest
2) Police declares protest is over, but people stay.
3) The police respond with violence
Even in castle doctrine states, it's only that their unwelcome presence on your property is an implied threat of violence, not that you're legally allowed to commit violence to protect property. That's why booby traps are universally illegal in the US.
So yes, compared to violence and particularly police brutality, it is "just property". Legally.
We had a problem with the police doing drivebys and firing indiscriminately at crowds as police would drive off.