By Christine Dempsey
Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
WATERBURY, Conn. — A former New Canaan police officer was sentenced Monday to two years in prison for his role in the fatal shootings of dogs — including puppies — that were perceived as unable to be trained at his canine training business.
The total sentence for David Rivera Jr., 36, was five years, suspended after two served, followed by three years of probation. He was sentenced in state Superior Court in Waterbury for first-degree malicious wounding/killing of an animal, court records show.
In a separate, but related, case, he also was sentenced Monday to a year, or 364 days, for first-degree reckless endangerment. That sentence runs concurrently with the aforementioned.
The charges stem from the fatal shootings of more than a dozen adult dogs and puppies and the abuse of other animals at Rivera’s business, Black Rock Canines of Naugatuck, Naugatuck police said. Rivera was a K-9 officer for the New Canaan Police Department and he trained dogs for law enforcement agencies.
He was arrested in May 2022 in the reckless endangerment case and in June 2022 in the malicious killing case.
Investigators said he dealt with problem dogs — dogs that he and the general manager believed could not be trained — by having the manager shoot the animals in the head, according to court filings. Rivera then buried the dogs on the grounds of the property at 100 Hunters Mountain Road, court documents stated.
According to court documents, Rivera and the manager, Daniel Luna, shot the dogs while the animals were eating. Employees of the business reported to investigators that they believed Luna shot the animals while Rivera used heavy equipment to bury them on the Naugatuck property, arrest warrants said. Luna was arrested, too, but his case has not been resolved yet.
In addition, employees complained to police that Rivera stored a large amount of explosives, including TNT, at the training center and a building in Naugatuck, arrest warrants stated. The explosives were used to train explosive-sniffing dogs.
The witnesses told police that after they confronted Rivera about the explosives, Rivera moved them to his home in Stratford , the warrants said.
In the garage, police found numerous items they determined to be high explosives, plus other items they considered to be low explosives, it stated. Some of the explosives had begun to degrade and crystallize, indicating they were extremely unstable.
In the explosives case, Rivera was sentenced Wednesday, July 3 , to two years in prison for illegal possession of explosives and illegal purchase/receipt of a long gun. That sentence also runs at the same time as the others.
Rivera was suspended from the Police Department following his arrest and later resigned.
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