A Whitehall man police say attended multiple protests in the past weeks faces riot and other charges for his alleged role in setting a Pittsburgh police SUV on fire last month.
Police say Shaheed Hatch, 26, was among those who helped start the fire that destroyed an unmarked police cruiser during a protest that turned violent on May 30 in Downtown Pittsburgh.
The unmarked commander’s vehicle was the second to burn after the protests devolved around 4:30 p.m.
According to two criminal complaints filed against Hatch, tips to police about a man at the scene wearing an orange Department of Public Safety life vest led them to Hatch. They wrote that a check of his Instagram account showed a photo of him wearing the orange vest and holding a stop sign.
The June 1 Instagram post used to help identify Hatch reads, in part: “Once things got out of hand due to a select few of people and cops I saw this vest and stop sign on the ground and picked it up. The reverse side of the stop sign reads slow. I wanted the message to be clear for people to stop and slow down to think about why things are happening.”
The complaint notes that video of the scene shows “Hatch running around the vehicle while multiple people were destroying the vehicle” and he is “standing near the vehicle when it is set on fire.” Police further note that, days later at a Jefferson Hill protest, officers noticed Hatch in a blue Chrysler. They said he stopped to speak with the detectives, who later identified him as the man in the vest.
Hatch is charged in that complaint with riot and receiving stolen property. A second complaint details his alleged involvement with burning the police SUV.
In that complaint, police wrote that video from the scene showed Hatch in the orange vest using the end of the stop sign to smash the passenger-side windows from the unmarked car.
According to the complaint, Hatch moves to the rear of the SUV and “grabs a container of yellow liquid” that another man had been pouring into the car’s cargo area.
“Hatch pours this yellowish brown liquid on a rag that is on the ground near the tailpipe of the vehicle,” police wrote. “Seconds later, there is fire visible inside the passenger compartment and others are seen adding additional flammable materials.”
That complaint charges Hatch with risking a catastrophe, felony criminal mischief, riot, and institutional vandalism.
