Alright, then who was being burned alive? Because I was under the impression it was the military/police. Nakoichi is saying that they burned people alive and that's why the military was sent in, but it was the military being burned alive, meaning they were already there.
To clear up some confusion, the soldiers and police who were burned and lynched at Muxidi were unarmed. The government responded on June 3-4 with an armed crackdown. The armed crackdown also encountered firebombs, but @Nakoichi@hexbear.net was referring to the earlier attacks at Muxidi.
China did not have specialized riot police at the time, it flatout wasn't ever necessary. The PLA was the only force existing with the manpower and equipment to handle the situation.