Three women arrested in pig’s head incident involving ex-officer who testified in Chauvin’s defense

Three women have been arrested in connection with a pig’s head incident targeting an ex-police officer who testified as a use-of-force expert for the defense during the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

The Santa Rosa Police Department arrested Rowan Dalbey, 20, Kristen Aumoithe, 34, and Amber Lucas, 25, on Tuesday on charges of conspiracy and two felony counts of vandalism, the department said in a statement.

The department said it’s still investigating and following up on leads. It believes there may have been additional suspects and is asking for the public to help identify them.

The department said last month that officers responded to a call at 3 a.m. after an unnamed victim said a group of individuals threw a pig’s head on their front porch and spattered blood on the front of their home.

The suspects’ target appeared to be Barry Brodd, a former Santa Rosa police officer who was called to the stand by the defense. The department said it appeared the women were targeting Brodd over his testimony.

But Brodd has not lived at the residence for years and is not a resident of California.

Forty-five minutes later, a large hand statue in front of Santa Rosa Plaza mall was vandalized with a substance that was thought to be animal blood. The suspects left a sign in front of the statue that had a picture of a pig and read “oink oink.”

Chauvin was convicted of second- and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter, in late April in connection to the death of George Floyd in May 2020.

A judge ruled that there were aggravating factors in Floyd’s death, a ruling that could lead to a harsher prison sentence for Chauvin.

During the trial, Brodd said he felt that Chauvin was “justified” in his actions, and that they did not amount to  deadly force.

“I felt that Derek Chauvin was justified, was acting with objective reasonableness, following Minneapolis Police Department policy and current standards of law enforcement in his interactions with Mr. Floyd,” Brodd said.

Santa Rosa Police Chief Rainer Navarro said in a statement at the time, “Mr. Brodd’s comments do not reflect the values and beliefs of the Santa Rosa Police Department.”