A former police officer and defense witness called during the trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was reportedly targeted by activists over the weekend.
Barry Brodd’s former home was smeared with animal blood and a severed pig’s head was left at the front porch Saturday.
“Santa Rosa police said officers responded at 3:07 a.m. to a residence in a west Santa Rosa neighborhood that had just been vandalized,” CBS SF BayArea reported Sunday. “The victim called police after they were awakened by a group of suspects — all dressed in black — who threw a pig’s head on their front porch and splattered blood on the front of their house and then fled.”
According to the CBS affiliate, investigators do not believe the attack was random but was connected to Brodd, who formerly lived in the home.
“Mr. Brodd has not lived at the residence for a number of years and is no longer a resident of California. Because Mr. Brodd no longer lives in the city of Santa Rosa, it appears the victim was falsely targeted,” police said.
Notably, anti-police activists have commonly referred to police officers as “pigs.” Brodd is a former police officer.
Brodd made it clear during his testimony that he thought the death of George Floyd was accidental, not an incident of deadly force used by Chauvin. NBC News reported:
In his testimony, Brodd compared the neck restraint Chauvin used on Floyd for more than 9 minutes to an officer’s firing a stun gun at a suspect who falls, hits his head and dies.
“That isn’t an incident of deadly force,” Brodd said, according to The Associated Press. “That’s an incident of an accidental death.”
The Santa Rosa home vandals are also suspected to have vandalized a large hand statue in front of an area mall that same morning, using what’s suspected to be animal blood, the CBS SF BayArea report noted. “The suspects also left a sign in front of the statue which had a picture of a pig and read ‘Oink Oink.’ They were seen fleeing the area and matched the descriptions of the suspects who vandalized the house.”
Chauvin and three other officers arrested and detained Floyd on May 25 after Floyd allegedly gave counterfeit money at a convenience store. Viral video shows that Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck and back area for nearly nine minutes while detaining Floyd.
Chauvin’s attorneys are arguing that Floyd’s drug use was a crucial factor in his death. As highlighted by The Daily Wire, the Hennepin County medical examiner said that Floyd’s autopsy showed the deceased had potentially lethal levels of drugs in his system.
Chauvin is currently on trial for second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in relation to Floyd’s death. The former officer can be found guilty of all, some, or none of the charges since they are all separate. Since he has no criminal history, Chauvin is likely looking at “serving about 12 1/2 years whether he is convicted of second or third-degree murder,” according to The Associated Press. The manslaughter charge, which has the lowest burden of proof, would bring a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Officials are asking anyone with information on the vandalism to please contact their tip line.