Police are looking for those responsible for vandalizing the former home of an expert who testified on behalf of the officer accused of fatally shooting George Floyd.
Those responsible left behind a pig’s head and stained blood on the walls of the building located in Santa Rosa, north of San Francisco, which once belonged to Barry Brodd, a retired police officer who was on the stand in the murder trial of Minneapolis last week, according to a police statement Saturday.
“It appears that the suspects in this vandalism were targeting Mr. Brodd for his testimony,” the Santa Rosa Police Department said. “Mr. Brodd has not lived in the residence for several years and is no longer a California resident.”
Officers who responded around 3 a.m. Saturday found a severed pig’s head on the front porch and blood on the residence, police said.
“Because Mr. Brodd no longer lives in the city of Santa Rosa, it appears that the victim was a false target,” the statement said.
Investigators believe the same vandals also stained a large hand statue in front of nearby Plaza Santa Rosa with blood and left a sign that read “Oink, oink,” police said.
The defense of the ex-police officer accused of George Floyd’s death argued in favor of the agent on Tuesday and called an expert in the use of force to testify who justified Derek Chauvin pressing Floyd to the ground, and claimed that things could have It was better if the black man had “rested comfortably” on the pavement.
No arrests were announced.
Brodd, a former Santa Rosa police officer, testified at the murder trial that he believes Floyd’s restraint by Officer Derek Chauvin was in keeping with proper policing.
In a statement issued after Brodd’s testimony, Santa Rosa Police Chief Rainer Navarro distanced himself from the former officer in his department.
“We know that former Santa Rosa police officer Barry Brodd gave testimony at Derek Chauvin’s trial,” Navarro’s statement said. “Your comments do not reflect the values and beliefs of the Santa Rosa Police Department.
Former officer Derek Chauvin was charged with the murder of George Floyd following the controversial police abuse case in Minneapolis that sparked protests across the country.