A Scott man will serve 41 months in federal prison for throwing concrete and pipes at police officers during last year’s George Floyd protests Downtown.

Andrew Augustyniak-Duncan, 26, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab on June 2 to one count of obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder.

The government was seeking imprisonment of 57 to 60 months. The defense asked for a prison term of 18 to 24 months.

In addition to the prison term, Augustyniak-Duncan will serve three years of supervised release.

According to the prosecution, Augustyniak-Duncan was at the protests Downtown on May 30, 2020, when he was captured on video at 6:04 p.m. and 6:33 p.m. throwing pieces of concrete at uniformed officers on Sixth Avenue between Wood and Smithfield streets.

Although the video does not show where the objects Augustyniak-Duncan threw landed, two officers were struck in the head and suffered concussions, the government said.

Officer Andrew Tantanella, one of the officers injured, said in a victim-impact statement that the worst part of that day was the fear and worry his family went through.

“As a police officer there is no greater fear or harm that can be done to the family than to receive a call or visit from another officer informing you that your loved one was injured or killed,” he wrote. “The emotional distress that gripped my wife and children that Saturday was traumatic and life-scarring.”

Tantanella said that he told his wife that day that a police car was being burned and that he was being called to the area. Over the following hours, he wrote, his communication with her was sporadic and tense.

After several hours of silence, Tantanella wrote, a nurse called his wife to tell him about his head injury. He was released a few hours later and returned home.

“There have been a few times that I have heard and seen my wife entirely overtaken with emotions and that night I got home, I saw my wife profusely weeping along with my children,” he wrote. “Imagine the horror in the mind of a 10, 7 and 5-year-old when they learn that Dad was in the hospital due to an injury while working?

“Few occupations carry the weight of yielding your life to a stranger for their protection, and the immense burden this places on a family is incalculable. Its effects are permanent.”

Video footage from the protests that day showed that Augustyniak-Duncan was wearing a gas mask at the time. However, officers found additional video in which the defendant was not wearing the mask, and he was identified by two probation officers.

“While the officers were attempting to gain control of a highly dangerous situation, the defendant took advantage of the chaos and what he believed to be his anonymity among the crowd to attempt to injure the officers by throwing heavy objects at them,” wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lusty in a court filing. “The defendant’s actions served to escalate an already volatile situation.”

He asked for an increased sentence, arguing that Augustyniak-Duncan’s actions constituted aggravated assault.

But defense attorney Michael E. DeMatt said there was not enough evidence to show that his client’s actions injured anyone, even though he acknowledged throwing the items.

“[T]here is nothing to indicate where these objects landed, nor is there anything that indicates that anything thrown by Mr. Augustyniak-Duncan actually struck anyone,” DeMatt wrote. “In short, there is nothing to indicate that Mr. Augustyniak-Duncan’s actions actually caused injury to anyone.”

Further, the defendant argued in his sentencing memorandum that it is not reasonable to assume that his client’s intent was anything more than trying to frighten the officers.

“Someone throwing objects at the officers while such officers are clad in full body armor could reasonably assume that objects such as rocks, pipes or chunks of concrete would not cause injury to such armored officers,” he wrote.

Augustyniak-Duncan has been incarcerated since January and has a pending state case based on the same allegations, as well as additional charges stemming from an incident June 10 at his grandparents’ home.

In his sentencing memo, DeMatt wrote that his client, who has previous convictions for simple assault, robbery, fleeing and eluding and resisting arrest, has a long history of substance abuse and mental illness, including diagnoses of paranoid schizophrenia, depression and psychotic disorder.

“If the cause of his behavior is treated, rather than just the symptoms, he has a much better chance at beating his addiction and being a productive member of society.”

“Mr. Augustyniak-Duncan acknowledges his wrongdoing, and recognizes his need for treatment. He is not hiding from his actions, but acknowledging his faults, which will allow him to move in a positive direction in the future,” DeMatt wrote.

Several other people have already been sentenced for their involvement in the protests. Brian Bartels, the man who set off the chain of events that led to the burning of a Pittsburgh police car by spray-painting and breaking a window, was ordered to serve one day in custody to be followed by six months probation. Two men who the government said conspired to set the car on fire, Da’Jon Lengyel and Christopher West were ordered to serve 27 months and 48 months in federal prison.

Bartels had no previous criminal history, while Lengyel and West had previous arrests.

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