I guess the pig had it coming—literally.
Much of America was appalled last week by the testimony of Barry Brodd, a use-of-force expert who testified on behalf of Derrick Chauvin’s defense team that the ex-cop was justified in kneeling down on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes and that he “was acting with objective reasonableness.”
Well, his former Santa Rosa, Calif. home was smeared with pig’s blood Saturday, four days after his testimony, according to CNN. Cops responded to a call around 3 a.m. from a resident inside the home that a group of people dressed in black threw a pig’s head on their front porch and threw blood on the property. Around $400 in damage was done.
Thing is, Brodd no longer lives at the house and is no longer a California resident. He lived there some years ago, but the vandals clearly thought he still resided at the home.
Around 45 minutes later, vandals smeared pigs’ blood over a large hand statue at Santa Rosa Plaza Mall. A large sign was left in front of it that read “Oink Oink,” according to a police press release. Cops believe the two incidents were committed by the same actors.
Brodd, who used to work for the Santa Rosa Police Department, evoked so much condemnation for his testimony that the department’s chief, Rainer Navarro, made sure to distance himself from his words.
“We are aware of former Santa Rosa Police Officer, Barry Brodd, providing testimony in the Derek Chauvin trial,” Navarro’s statement said. “His comments do not reflect the values and beliefs of the Santa Rosa Police Department.”
Brodd, who lives in Bozeman, Mont., testified that Chauvin was justified in placing his knee on Floyd, but admitted that he was compliant during cross examination. Furthermore, witnesses for the prosecution argued that no reasonable officer would have copied Chauvin’s actions.
Closing arguments are taking place today in Chauvin’s murder trial and the jury is expected to reach a verdict this week.
The nation is already tense after cops killed Daunte Wright in nearby Brooklyn Center, just 10 minutes away from the courthouse where Chauvin’s trial is taking place. Last week, the city of Chicago released footage of 13-year-old Adam Toledo being shot to death by a cop after a chase in an alley. The cop shouted that the boy show his hands and Toledo complied. The cop shot him anyway.
To be clear, the people who vandalized Brodd’s former home got the wrong people, so it is unfortunate that folks who had nothing to do with his fuckery were subjected to a pig-smearing intended for him, but the incident speaks to the frustration of many people around the country fed up with police brutality.