A half-dozen cans of spray paint and a distinct black hoodie linked a Shaler man to the destruction of a Pittsburgh police car in Uptown on Saturday, the riotous spark that touched off hours of violence and marred what was meant to be a peaceful protest, according to police.

Brian Jordan Bartels, 20, is charged with riot, institutional vandalism, criminal mischief and five counts of reckless endangerment. He turned himself in about 5 p.m. Monday, Pittsburgh Public Safety announced.

The planned peaceful protest was spurred by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25. Video of the incident showed at least one white police officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck as he cried that he could not breathe. Floyd was black.

Protests in Pittsburgh turned violent about 4:30 p.m. Saturday, police said, indicating that it all started with “the vandalism and ultimate burning of a marked Pittsburgh Police vehicle” parked outside PPG Paints Arena. Specifically, a man dressed in black began spray-painting the cruiser, then jumped on the hood and broke the windows.

Shane Dunlap | Tribune-Review Brian Jordan Bartels, 20, of Shaler is accused of inciting a riot during the protests in Pittsburgh on Saturday.  

That man was identified as Bartels, according to the criminal complaint against him.

Police received a tip late Saturday from an anonymous caller who said Bartels was a co-worker at Amazon, according to the complaint. The caller said they recognized Bartels’ image on the news and on social media, and that Bartels had said to the caller Saturday: “If I’m not at work tomorrow, ask the boss to give me paid time off.”

The caller told police Bartels later said he would be at work, according to the complaint.

Plainclothes detectives who had been among the protesters said Bartels’ photo matched the man they saw kick off the destruction of the cruiser.

Detectives said the man they saw — a white man with black pants, a black hoodie and black bandana — moved toward a backpack on the ground and produced a can of red or orange spray paint, according to the complaint. He began to spray the car, and the crowd cheered. Another man jumped onto the hood, and the man identified as Bartels began kicking the SUV and throwing things at it, breaking a window.

“A black female from the crowd (stepped) in front of Bartels and pleaded for him to stop,” police wrote. “He gave her the finger and then jumped on the car hood and stomped the windshield.”

As some in the crowd cheered, the destruction and violence grew, police said, but not before some tried to intervene.

“As Bartels continued his destruction, the crowd fought back against him less, and more people began to join him in damaging the car,” officers wrote in the complaint.

Officers on horses circled the cruiser but were forced to retreat when some protesters began throwing rocks and bricks.

Pittsburgh police along with the FBI, Shaler police and the North Hills Special Response Team served a search warrant on Bartels’ Shaler home on Sunday afternoon. No one was home, and authorities forced their way inside.

They seized books and other literature, though the criminal complaint did not specify the nature of the books; gloves; a silver iPhone; six cans of spray paint; a bag with “miscellaneous items”; and a sweatshirt with white writing.

Police said the black sweatshirt with white writing, which was found atop a dryer in the laundry room of the College Park Road home, matched the one Bartels was seen wearing during Saturday’s melee.

On Monday, a black SUV sat in the Bartels’ driveway. The lawn was overgrown, and the open mailbox revealed letters. Shattered glass was observed on the front-door entryway to split-level home. The door’s stained-glass window had been damaged. No one answered the door.

A neighbor, who declined to offer her name because she was afraid of getting involved in the investigation, said she had interacted with the family over the five or so years they had lived there. She said she had not seen Bartels’ parents in about three weeks but saw Brian Bartels and his brother come and go.

She said she was shocked by the allegations.

Other neighbors declined to comment or told a reporter they did not know or interact with the family.

A GoFundMe page was created late Sunday. The fundraiser, which has since been taken down, purported to have been created by Brian Bartels. It was named “I need lawyer money.”

A little more than $600 had been raised before it was taken down.

A GofFundMe spokeswoman confirmed the campaign “was removed from the platform because it violated GoFundMe terms of service.” She did not offer additional comment.

Megan Guza and Dillon Carr are Tribune-Review staff writers. You can contact Megan at mguza@triblive.com, and you can reach Dillon at dcarr@triblive.com.

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