Brian Bartels, the protester caught on video vandalizing police vehicle turned himself in, the Pittsburg police announced on Monday. As per the new details in the case, Bartels is an Amazon employee, one of his colleagues tipped the police. Charges of institutional vandalism, rioting, and reckless endangerment of another person are leveled against him.
The U.S. has witnessed widespread protests over the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, by four white police officers in Minneapolis. On several occasions, they've turned violent when members of the crowd have resorted to vandalism, arson, and looting.
Protester Who Vandalized Police Vehicle Turns Himself in
Such incident was reported in Pittsburg on Saturday afternoon, where Bartels was caught on camera, smashing the window of a police vehicle, spraying red or orange color on it, and smashing its windshield. He was wearing black trousers, sweatshirts and covered his face with a black bandana. In the video, several protesters can be heard urging Bartel to not destroy the police car.
The Pittsburg police issued a warrant against him the next day. Police is "seeking a Shaler man suspected of inciting yesterday's violence", it said on Twitter and shared a picture of Bartel. The police identified Bartel after getting a tip from an anonymous Amazon employee and conducted a search warrant at his home. Although they didn't find Bartel, they did recover items linking him to the crime. The items included two firearms, books, gloves, cans of spray paint, and the black sweatshirt he wore at Saturday's protest, WPXI reported.
George Floyd Death
He turned himself in on Monday at 5:00 pm, the Pittsburg police announced. He was escorted by his parents and was interviewed by police detectives. Amazon hasn't commented on the incident or the status of Bartel's employment.
On May 25, George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officers after they were informed that he had paid a counterfeit $20 bill. In the video of the incident, the now-arrested police officer, Derek Chauvin was seen kneeling on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, as he gasped for air. He passed out and later died, sparking widespread protests throughout the country. Chauvin was arrested last Friday on charges of second-degree murder. Charges of aiding and abetting were leveled against three other officers.
