K9 killed by gang members while trying to stop prison fight, officials say

SUSSEX COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ/Gray News) - Authorities in Virginia are mourning the loss of a K9 officer they said was killed by gang members at a state prison.

The Virginia Department of Corrections said K9 Riven died while protecting his assigned corrections officer, staff, and other inmates at Sussex State Prison Tuesday.

According to officials, three inmates affiliated with the MS-13 gang are housed at Sussex State Prison. The three inmates attacked another inmate in one of the facility’s housing units while a fourth inmate appeared to be supervising the assault.

Corrections Officer Kharmishia Phillip Fields and her assigned K9 Riven responded to the attack. Officials said Rivan was repeatedly stabbed and kicked by the inmates and died at the prison.

Phillip Fields, a trained K9 handler and 4-year veteran of the department, was not seriously injured.

Prison staff broke up the attack, with the attacked inmate taken to a hospital for treatment before being returned to the facilities.

Authorities said the inmates involved in the attack are from El Salvador and Guatemala, and at least three of them are verified members of the MS-13 gang. All of the inmates were in the U.S. illegally at the time they were arrested and convicted.

The inmates were convicted on several charges, including first-degree homicide, attempted rape, kidnapping/abduction, malicious wounding, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, child pornography charges, grand larceny, and possession of a Schedule III drug.

The Virginia Department of Corrections plans to pursue prosecution of the inmates for the prison attack and death of the dog.

The department said the safety of its corrections team is top priority and thanked Phillip Fields for her service.

The department’s director, Chad Dotson, also said Rivan’s death is tragic but not in vain, and that the department will never forget the dog’s sacrifice.

“He lost his life while potentially saving the lives of two people, his assigned officer and an inmate,” Dotson said.

Dotson said the attack emphasizes the importance of the K9 program for protecting correctional staff.

Rivan, a Belgian Malinois, would have turned 6 on April 30. He joined the Virginia Department of Corrections in 2019.

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