All the world is a stage. If they can fake one instance, and it influences tens of millions of people, why wouldn't they?

And it doesn't even need to be fake, you just give equipment to police for free with the stipulation they have to use it in 6 months or return it. Then you create a requirement that they have to have footage of them using it in action in order to keep the equipment. Then you air that footage on the news.

Then all it takes is one hothead in one police department to overreact to something, and bam your police state has momentum and everyone sees it not being stopped or dealt with in any way, so it just continues to accelerate.