I've been following this closely myself. I'm astounded by how many people how decided to turn themselves into armchair analysts and deduce that these riots are the work of thugs 100%. It's far more complex then that. There are a great many reasons for the riot, and I'm not gonna pretend that I understand the various motivations of these people until the dust settles.
Another thing that has me perplexed is that when people protest and then riot against continued police brutality, the response of the public is to ramp up the polices power to greate heights? As if it will help? Well, at least the metropolitan police force didn't resort just some of the suggested extreme tactics, just a good old surge.