I think there's two points. One, if they're not upholding basic constitutional rights then yes they can be federally sued or I think prosecuted by the Federal DOJ. If they're not upholding state laws they could only be sued in state court or prosecuted by their clownworld state DA. I think the whole DOJ color of law statement should apply somewhere in that someone is not upholding people's rights, it seems this stuff takes a long time to work it's way through courts. It's in my opinion a big flaw in our legal system in that we don't have adequate protection from psychopaths in power.

Here's how it's legal:

We have a monopoly on the use of force. Try to make us change our minds and we'll shoot you. Have a nice day, move along citizen.

This is what I say. Duty to protect is part of the Oath of Office, at least for the Mayor and Governor. I have no idea about the City council, but CoP and Mayor could ignore them and do their jobs if they wanted to. City Council could do nothing. Riots would end.

Failure to do so exposes them to liability without limit.