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JSO officer off the force after shooting, killing dog

A Jacksonville Sheriff's Office officer is off the force after admitting he shot and killed his dog.

The animal cruelty case against him was never prosecuted.

Former JSO Officer Vicente "Vinny" Rivera told Action News Jax he killed the German Shepherd, named Luke, in a St. Johns County backyard, but he said he did not deserve to lose his job over it.

“He went after small children, unprovoked. If he hadn’t been on a leash, I guarantee he would have done some damage to these kids,” said Rivera.

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Action News Jax asked Rivera why he did not take Luke to Animal Control instead.

“I don’t know that there’s a more humane way to put an animal out of its misery,” said Rivera.

Rivera said he's a former K9 officer and now trains dogs. He said he resigned a few months ago after JSO gave him the option to step down or be fired.

Action News Jax asked the State Attorney’s Office why the animal cruelty case against Rivera was never prosecuted.

A spokesperson sent us a memo from the case file that said, in part, “The state would be unable to prove the killing was unnecessary when the dog repeatedly tried to attack small children.”

Rivera shot the dog in the fall of 2017, around the same time he was under an Internal Affairs investigation at JSO.

An off-duty JSO officer who had just been in a crash on Lem Turner Road reported that Rivera cursed at him and did not stop to help.

“The first thing that came out of his mouth was, ‘Hey, like, y’all need to get those f***ing cars out of the road,’” JSO Officer L.D. Taylor said during a recorded Internal Affairs interview earlier this year.

It was Rivera’s first shift as a solo beat officer at JSO, according to Internal Affairs records.

Rivera was given a written reprimand.

Rivera said he does not plan to return to law enforcement. The local Fraternal Order of Police president confirmed Rivera is no longer a member of the union.