Target: Maureen T. Platt, State’s Attorney for Waterbury, CT
Goal: Punish police officer accused of abusing and fatally injuring dogs during training exercises to fullest extent if found guilty.
A man who took an oath to enforce the law was allegedly busy violating it instead. Worse yet, this man also swore to protect the victims of his reported crimes. David Rivera, Jr., an officer in a Connecticut K-9 police unit, is charged with cruelty that apparently led to the deaths of at least ten canines under his care.
The suspect operated a dog training facility as a side business, which is where the allegations of cruelty originated. He came to the attention of authorities when several clients reported having their dogs returned in unhealthy and unstable condition following stays at the facility. Many clients noted that the dogs appeared afraid of humans. When a search warrant was obtained, among the items seized were explosives seemingly used in an illegal and unsafe manner to “train” dogs as sniffers. An even more horrifying discovery arose when searchers reportedly found the bodies of ten deceased canines buried on business grounds. Because of these disturbing findings, over 30 dogs were seized from the property and Rivera was prohibited from contact with animals until the case concludes.
Due to the egregious nature of these multiple charges of animal cruelty and Rivera’s standing as an officer, punishment must be stringent. Sign the petition below to urge prosecutors to seek the maximum penalty in the event of a guilty verdict.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Ms. Platt,
Dog caretakers often feel that their furry friends are family. When they entrust their family member to another person, and a seeming professional, a breach of this trust is a violation. Multiple clients of David Rivera, Jr.’s dog training business believe this violation occurred. Evidence suggests that the animals under Rivera’s care may have been abused, traumatized, and, in the worst cases, killed.
This man worked with dogs for a living as a police officer, making his alleged crimes and breaches of trust all the more horrendous. Please seek full justice for every possible victim impacted in this case by pursuing the strongest charges and potential sentences.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Hang him!!!
MY CENTIMENTS EXACTLY ANDREW!!! WE DO NOT NEED ANY MORE SICK PHYCOPATHS IN OUR SOCIETY TORTURING AND ABUSING ANIMALS!!! THE JUDGES THAT RULE OVER ANIMAL ABUSE NEED TO GET THIER SHIT TOGETHER AND FOLLOW THE LAW WHICH IS FEDERAL FELONY FOR ALL AND ANY ANIMAL ABUSERS NO MERCY NO EXCEPTIONS!!! MAY HE BURN IN HELL!!!
Amen! Absolutely the death penalty!plenty!!
This is purely evil!! I am enraged and someone must dispose of him now!! May he die a thousand gruesome deaths and rot in hell!!
— AND BE LOCKED UP IN A MAXIMUM-SECURITY PRISON FOR THE REST OF HIS MISERABLE EXISTENCE!
That’s right !!!!
Too fast 😪
Unacceptable. This useless human does not need to be a police officer. He took an oath and he’s violated it. Fire him , lock him up. This should be a felony . Never ever be around dogs or any animals . Close his so called business down permanently. Ruin his name . He’s a threat to society.
Humans feel a bond with dogs and other animals that can only be described by poets. It’s that strong. Therefore one can make the argument that whom so ever abuses animals is not completely human.
We must, as a species, find ways to extinguish animal cruelty and neglect. In the mean time May God almighty take the souls of these blessed animals and Cleve them to his loving heart.
What a worthless turd!! He isn’t fit to be a cop. What will he do to people if he can do this to an animal.
Who is this MOFO Asshole???
He murdered 10 dogs and mistreated others. Dogs that could have been eventually used to stop crime. Ones that might detect drugs, weapons .. even ones to be trained to locate missing people. What should happen to him? How about the same thing done to him!!!
Kill him!!
Definitely unfit to be a police officer…sounds more like a serial animal abuser/murderer! Please ensure you prosecute him to the max with the strongest charges and maximum sentences appropriate for his crimes!
This “man” is a total disgrace to policemen everywhere. He needs to be punished and no way should he be a police officer. Absolutely disgusting.
Dogs should never be killedat a training facility they deserve justice
Agree!! This piece of shit deserves to be hung & judges need to get off their ass & do the right thing!!!
Absolutely!! Where is the law?!! Must we the people bring justice if the law does not???
Fucken bastard
I would strangle that fucker with my bare hands
OUTRAGEOUS!!!!! NEVER KILL A DOG AT A TRAINING FACILITY!!!!
“punishment must be stringent” HELL NO! extreme punishment!sTRIP HIM OF HIS
“punishment must be stringent” HELL NO! extreme punishment! Strip him of his badge and send him to the nastiest prison where all prisoners know who he was and what he did! He will get what he deserves!
What a poor excuse for a human, let alone a police officer and canine dog trainer and handler. He is disgusting and needs to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. I hope he goes to jail for along time. He is disgusting.
And the worst part is that the media will never give you the full story. Cruelty, even torture, is the norm, the standard, THE RULE in “training” and handling K9’s. Many more K9’s are killed outright by their handlers than by any suspects on the street. When a suspect kills one, they have a huge PUBLIC RELATIONS funeral, but when they kill their own, it’s swept under the rug.
And make no mistake about it, they lie, Lie, LIE about it. They will look you right in the eyes and deny what they do. If they’re caught on video (and sometimes they are), then they trot out the “one bad apple” argument, and perhaps a few justifications if that fails.
After see what they do to the dogs (I worked in law enforcement), I often think the dogs would be better off dead.
Hi Sue:
I don’t know about nowadays, but when I was a law enforcement officer. We saw only great handlers or you were gone. Dogs first attitude. Back that was back in the 1980-90s. You had to volunteer your time off working with the K-9 training to even apply.
It was in South Florida with 50 different departments training together at times.
Nowadays, they promise anyone a K-9, including rookies, ones that have little training or commonsense to even being a police office let alone a K-9 handler. Departments are so desperate to hire police officers that they overlook what it takes to be a law abiding officer.
Again, the cruelty I witnessed was in the same time frame you mentioned. Not only that, but I did the research to confirm it isn’t just the department I worked for (and surrounding agencies).
Even my own dept. tried lying to me, saying the first time, “What you saw was an anomaly,” followed by conflicting statements, “We never did that,” “We haven’t done that for the last 3 years,” “We haven’t done that for the last 20 years,’ etc. I guess they thought I’d just give up, but I caught them time, after time, after time in the lies.
The fact is, it is the standard, it has been happening since K9 units were formed over 120 years ago, right on through to the present. And lying about it is as rampant as the cruelty itself.
Dear Ms. Platt,
That bastard is nothing but a potential criminal disguised as a police officer!
Yes, Ms. Platt,
He is just a merciless coward who deserves no mercy and should be penalized in the most harshly way
Thank you!
Training facility? More like torture facility complete with the use of shock collars and pinch collars. Think he dererves both to be used on him then set fire to.
What kind of person would kill dogs as part of a training exercise? A monster would. And this jerk is out on the streets serving and protecting? Please sentence this man to the fullest extent of the law! Ban him from ever owning an animal or being a police officer! This just makes me sick to my stomach!
Debra Vanderford
Elkhart, IN
That is like an impossible dream, year after year we are asked to advocate for animals and nobody does anything for them, but fine the offenders, or if they go to jail it is only for a very short time, otherwise they are sentenced to one or two years of probation…
There is no law, no HUMANS have a heart to harshly penalize those miserable criminals!
It is hard to admit the truth – but it seems that no judge is moved by the mistreatment, torture and subsequent death inflicted on poor animals by criminals who do not deserve to be alive, and much less, considering that they enrich themselves by putting all these atrocities on what they now call ‘social networks’!