There are times when authority must revert to violence in order to maintain obedience.
There will always be a small minority who refuse to obey the tenets of cultural law. Because of this, authorities employ a constant stream of violence known as law enforcement, or police. These are not police in the defense of liberty, but police in the defense of authority. Cultures always teach that liberty and authority are one and the same; but the design of police is to wield the weapons of violence in the preservation of authority, not to defend liberty.
Authority must also employ violence when cultures break down. Throughout history, people have slowly and steadily learned more and more about their own worth, and hence demanded more and more freedom. Different cultures have fallen as people realized that culture is a lie.
When cultures begin to break down, it is because people are learning about their value. Such cultures and the authorities they protect are doomed. Never once in history has a culture in decline been redeemed. When authorities see that their culture is being dismantled, and obedience is no longer theirs to enjoy, they return to violence. These returns to violence are historically extremely brutal. The violent enforcement of law is a sign of coming liberty.