Suspended K-9 cop accused of killing dogs
“The allegations outlined in these affidavits are not only illegal but also disheartening. As a police agency with three successful working K-9s ... we are appalled at the treatment that other dogs of the same caliber were given while under the care of Black Rock Canines.” Naugatuck Police Chief Colin McAllister
NAUGATUCK — Suspended New Canaan K-9 Officer David Rivera Jr. and Daniel Luna, his general manager at Black Rock Canines, had a way of dealing with dogs they felt couldn’t be trained, former and current employees told state and local investigators, according to court documents.
Luna is accused of shooting the dogs in the head while he served them dinner, the court documents said.
Rivera, whose own police K-9 was revoked by his department, would use heavy equipment to bury the animals at the Naugatuck property at 100 Hunters Mountain Road, according to an arrest warrant charging Luna with close to 20 counts, including cruelty to animals, unlawful euthanization of a canine and first-degree reckless endangerment.
“The allegations outlined in these affidavits are not only illegal but also disheartening,” Naugatuck Police Chief Colin McAllister said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
“As a police agency with three successful working K-9s that serve our community to their highest capacity, we are appalled at the treatment that other dogs of the same caliber were given while under the care of Black Rock Canines.”
Rivera was suspended from the New Canaan Police Department last week after his arrest by Stratford police on charges he had illegally possessed and stored explosives at his home as part of the dog training business he ran on the side.
Rivera surrendered Monday to Naugatuck police after a warrant was issued for his arrest on accusations he and Luna shot and killed dogs and abused other animals at Black Rock Canines, which trained and sold dogs to police departments and other law enforcement agencies and private citizens, McAllister said.
Rivera was charged by Naugatuck police with conspiracy to commit animal cruelty, first-degree reckless endangerment and conspiracy to commit euthanization of a canine. He was released after posting $150,000 bond and will appear May 18 in state Superior Court in Waterbury on the new charges.
Luna, 33, was arraigned Tuesday in Waterbury on four counts of animal cruelty, four counts of conspiracy to commit animal cruelty, one count of first-degree reckless endangerment, four counts of conspiracy to commit euthanization of a canine and third-degree identity theft.
Naugatuck police seized 31 dogs from the facility and placed them in a shelter, pending the outcome of the criminal cases, McAllister said.
The dogs appeared to be in good condition, he said.
Naugatuck police said they searched the business property on April 26 after receiving reports of suspected animal cruelty. The allegations came as state officials were investigating reports that Rivera was improperly storing explosives on the property, but he had moved the dogs to his Stratford home, the court documents said.
Three days after the search, McAllister said Rivera’s father, David Rivera Sr., was arrested Friday for allegedly threatening Black Rock Canines employees with a knife.
Rivera Sr., 57, of Stratford, was charged with second-degree threatening and two counts of breach of peace. He was released after posting $25,000 bond and will appear May 11 in Waterbury Superior Court.
According to Luna’s arrest warrant, one Black Rock Canines employee reported to state police that she helped move explosives and dogs to the Naugatuck Event Center for training.
The training consisted of teaching the dogs to sniff explosives, she said, according to the warrant. The four-story downtown building was usually filled with other people who were engaging in various activities, she said.
The woman would place the explosives around the building so the dogs could learn their scent, the warrant said. She would pack up the explosives and the dogs at the end of the day and bring them back to Black Rock Canines in a van, she said.
Luna, a Waterbury resident who moved to Connecticut two years ago, was a police officer in Texas for a decade, according to his attorney, Robert Berke. He has no prior record and was working full time as a police K-9 trainer, Berke said.
“I do not believe he’s a risk of flight,” Berke said.
During Tuesday’s arraignment, Waterbury
Superior Court Judge Frank Ionatti called the allegations “egregious” before setting bond at $75,000. Luna posted bond and is required to wear an electronic monitoring device, officials said.
An arrest warrant alleges that Luna and Rivera shot and killed at least 10 dogs they believed were not able to be trained or sold.
One employee of Black Rock Canines told police that Luna would kill the dogs while they ate, the warrant stated.
The dogs and food dishes, which sometimes contained bullet holes, were buried in a pit on the property, the employee said, according to the warrant.
Investigators confirmed the accounts by digging where employees said dogs were buried, the warrant said. The decomposing animals were sent to the state Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab at Storrs, police said.
Employees led police to an area of the property where several dogs were isolated, the warrant said. Those dogs were called “useless,” the employee said, and confined to their cages 24 hours a day, according to the warrant.
Employees told police they had never seen a veterinarian on the property, the warrant stated.
Police launched an investigation after they said employees reported concerns Rivera was improperly handling explosives at Black Rock Canines, which he ran outside his work as a New Canaan K-9 officer.
The investigation led police to Rivera’s Stratford home, where they said a large amount of explosives were found improperly stored. Rivera also is accused of possessing the explosives illegally since he did not have a license, according to an arrest warrant for the original charges.
Rivera, 34, was arraigned Friday in state Superior Court in Bridgeport on charges of illegal possession of explosives, illegal storage of explosives, illegal possession of an assault rifle, illegal storage of a firearm and three counts of improper transfer of a firearm.
Rivera was released after posting $250,000 bond for those charges.
Rivera was suspended as a New Canaan police officer after the department learned of the investigation into the explosives, Chief Leon Krolikowski said.
Rivera had been out on workers compensation. However, Krolikowski and other town officials have declined to say when Rivera last worked as a police officer.
New Canaan’s K-9, a German shepherd named Apollo, is still with the department.
Rivera has at least two pending workers’ compensation complaints with the state Workers’ Compensation Commission, which oversees claims that need negotiations or have been denied.
Rivera joined the New Canaan Police Department in 2014 after being a member of the Bridgeport police force.
Rivera has received commendations and awards from the department in recent years after helping to save someone who was overdosing and successfully capturing a man who refused to drop his gun.
Last July, Rivera filed a lawsuit against New Canaan, claiming discrimination based on skin color and race after he was not chosen for the department’s Special Response Team. That case is going to trial, court records show.