Oh they knew alright. Someone in leadership came up with this plan as a way to follow the letter of the order but not the spirit. Technically, they didn't use physical force against the journalists, at least as police see it.

If anyone in leadership gets called before the judge to answer for this, I'm sure they will argue that they needed a way to identify the journalists so they can keep them "safe". The intimidation is just a fortunate byproduct.