Police vs. Protesters

Today in class, we briefly talked about the NATO Summit in Chicago. We talked of the goals of the protesters and of the way it is framed in the media. I found it very interesting that many different types of media highlighted the efforts of the Chicago Police, over the goals of the protesters. In a Las Vegas Sun article I read, a protest organizer said that, "Whatever violence there was, was the fault of the police, not the protesters." Yet the police are being praised for their work in not beating up protesters. It is American citizens' constitutional rights to be able to protest things that they disagree with. So why is it so important for the police to be praised for allowing the citizens to exercise their constitutional rights? Shouldn't the spotlight be put on the protesters for standing up for what they believe in? Their views should be held over the restraint of the police for not acting out, when still all of the violence was their fault. I don't understand this phenomenon where the police are payed more attention to than the protesters. Is it because America is so obsessed with tragedies that even when they are avoided that they make the news? Or because the protesters are just seen as troublemakers so the police are what everyone cares about?