Chicago police officer Carlos Baker shot his partner Krystal Rivera, in June last year, in what CPD called a ‘fatal accident’

Baker and Rivera had been chasing a suspect through an apartment building in the Chatham neighborhood at around 9.50pm on June 5, 2025 when the tragedy struck

Rivera, a 36-year-old mother of one, was in her fourth year with Chicago police when she was killed by friendly fire in the line of duty

She was shot in the back, an autopsy found that the fatal shot pierced her skin and traveled through both her lungs, wedging itself in her ribs

The fact that the partners had a volatile relationship after being romantically linked on and off, for two years appears to have raised some flags

Rivera’s family in a wrongful death suit against Baker and the Chicago PD are challenging the ‘fatal accident conclusion’

They allege Baker ‘failed in his duty to render life-saving aid to Krystal after he shot her,’ furthermore that CPD personnel were aware pf the pairs’ volatile history

Baker while expressing grief, extended sympathy to Rivera’s family, as he placed the blame for her death on the suspect they were chasing

Chicago police officer Krystal Rivera, [right], was shot and killed by her partner Carlos Baker [left], last year after they chased a suspect into an apartment and encountered another person with a rifle

Body camera footage just released by the Chicago police Department showed the moment a police officer fatally shot his own partner in the line of duty.
Officer Carlos Baker and his partner Krystal Rivera had been chasing a suspect through an apartment building in the Chatham neighborhood at around 9.50pm on June 5, 2025, when Baker shot Rivera in what police have described as a ‘fatal accident.’
The Rivera family filed a wrongful death suit against Baker and the Chicago Police Department disputing the official version. The suit alleges that officer Baker failed to attend to his injured partner.
Furthermore, that police personnel were aware there was a volatile history between the partners after a they had been romantically involved.
In the wake of the lawsuit, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability Friday, released footage recorded by Baker’s body camera on the night of June 5, 2025.

Adrian Rucker, [photo], 25, of Freeport, was armed with a rifle when he encountered police inside an apartment building in Chatham on June 5, 2025, when Officer Rivera was killed by friendly fire

The recording shows the pair of Baker and Rivera getting out of their police cruiser, then running toward a man outside of an apartment building, demanding he ‘freeze’ and raise his hands.
Without complying, the man instead ducked into the building and bounded up the stairs, with Baker and Rivera pursuing in pursuit.
As Baker made his way up the stairs, with Rivera on his tail, the suspect, who was later identified as Adrian Rucker, ducked into an apartment.
Baker then kicked down the door as the suspect proceeded to flip over the couch.
At this point, another male figure, later identified as Jaylin Arnold, appears from a room with a rifle in his hand.
Baker appeared to quickly react, turning and firing one shot, Rivera is then seen falling down. It later turned out that she was shot in the back.

Footage recorded on officer Baker’s body camera shows Baker and Rivera chasing a suspect, who ran into an apartment building in Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood on the night of June 5, 2025

Baker shows Rivera following him up the stairs during the chase

With the police officers on his heels, the suspect ducked into an apartment, where a second man was seen holding a long gun

Meanwhile, Baker ran up the stairs, where he caught his breath before asking: ‘Krystal are you OK?’
When he did not receive an answer, Baker could be heard calling for an ambulance and asserting: ‘I can’t get my partner!’
He also asked another resident of the building to call 911. 
But about two minutes later, Baker could be seen going to check on his partner before additional units arrived on the scene to transport her to a local hospital. 
Colleagues brought Rivera, a mother-of-one, to University of Chicago Medical Center in a squad car that crashed and caught fire because of a malfunction, according to Police Superintendent Larry Snelling. 
She was then transported in another squad car, and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
An ensuing autopsy found that the fatal shot pierced Rivera’s skin and traveled through both her lungs, wedging itself in her ribs.
Interviewed by investigators on the night’s incident, Baker said: ‘I thought I was about to die in that doorway because action – as we’re taught – action beats reaction.
‘I dove out of the way and that was when I heard a “pop,”‘ claiming he only realized he was the one who shot Rivera when he checked his service weapon at police headquarters and noticed a bullet was missing.
‘I was lost and confused. I was in denial that I even fired my gun,’ he said.

Carlos Baker is facing a wrongful death suit in the case. The partners had a volatile relationship after being romantically involved. Rivera’s family allege Baker failed to attend to his partner, furthermore CPD personnel were aware their volatile history

Krystal Rivera’s mom Yolanda Rivera and stepfather, Rico Thompson, seen with their attorney Antonio Romanucci [left], in their civil suit allege Baker failed to attend to his partner. Furthermore that CPD personnel were aware pf the pairs’ volatile history

Baker was insistent that he was ‘best friends’ with Rivera. That he ‘would never’ intentionally shoot her.
He added that he was willing to risk his life for Rivera and remembers thinking: ‘I will die for her, that I had to get to her.’
‘I just want to speak to Krystal and say “I love you”. “I miss you,”‘ he said in the interview.
“I will never forget you… I won’t let you down, I promise.” That’s it.’ 
There were 11 seconds between Baker and Rivera entering the building before she was shot. Since June, police have said Officer Baker unintentionally shot Officer Rivera.
Officers who reviewed the footage said it appeared Baker acted appropriately.
‘I mean, if they saw the individual, they had a good description, they were in direct pursuit of the individual, then you don’t want to wait because you don’t know who else you’re putting in jeopardy in that building.’

Departmental officers who reviewed the footage said it appeared Baker acted appropriately. However, Krystal Rivera’s family in their civil suit allege ‘he failed in his duty to render life-saving aid to Krystal after he shot her’

He noted that it appeared the two officers had entered a ‘fatal funnel.’
‘Those buildings are literal, just kill zones,’ Kushner said. ‘Every, every, every staircase is a kill zone and there’s no good way to get into any apartment or chase anyone in there.’
John Catanzara, head of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, also defended Baker’s actions as he encouraged the cop to consider filing his own lawsuit against the firm representing the Rivera family.
‘Many officers would have run down the… stairs possibly right away, subjecting themselves to then get shot,’ he argued. ‘And then you’d have two shot officers on the staircase if the offenders were still in the apartment.’ 

Officer Rivera, seen [photo], with her son, was pronounced dead at a local hospital after she hit by a shot fired by her colleague with whom it has been revealed, she’d had a turbulent two-year off and on romantic relationship

Rivera [left], was in the fourth year with Chicago police. She was shot in the back. An autopsy found that the fatal shot pierced her skin and traveled through both her lungs, wedging itself in her ribs

However, attorneys representing Rivera’s family in their wrongful death suit have claimed there is more to the story. 
In a lengthy statement following the release of the footage on Friday, lawyer Antonio Romanucci said ‘this is NOT all of the body-worn video footage from the event.
‘What has been released is a curated narrative meant to invent a false truth,’ he said, arguing, ‘All body-worn footage is essential to the public understanding the full scope of this tragedy.’
Romanucci added that his firm will conduct a full forensic video audit and analysis to investigate the released footage, saying: ‘We do not have confidence that this investigation is being handled in a fair and objective manner.
‘We call for an independent investigation into Krystal’s death and the CPD conduct that has followed,’ the lawyer said. ‘Indeed, we are suspicious of why the videos are released while the investigation is underway.’
The full footage from River’s body camera has not been released, however sources close to the investigation say the intent of the cut off was to maintain dignity in her final moments. 
Still, Romanucci argued that ‘Carlos Baker was unfit to be a Chicago Police Officer and that CPD put Krystal at risk by giving him a badge and a gun.
‘More so, he failed in his duty to render life-saving aid to Krystal after he shot her.’

CPD officers escort Krystal Rivera’s casket at memorial service. Her family’s attorney said ‘What has been released is a curated narrative meant to invent a false truth.’ They want ‘All body-worn footage is essential to the public understanding the full scope of this tragedy’ released

The Rivera family’s lawsuit alleges Baker faced 11 misconduct complaints in under three years. Infact Baker had been the subject of more than a dozen misconduct complaints by the time he shot and killed Rivera,
He accrued five of those complaints when he was a probationary officer, when he could have been summarily fired because he had few union protections.
At that time, Baker was accused of flashing a gun at a woman he had met online while she was on a date with another man. But the woman refused to cooperate with authorities, and Baker faced no disciplinary action in that case.
He then applied to the Gresham District’s tactical team in March 2024, but Patrol Chief Jon Hein quashed his promotion, citing his disciplinary history.
Baker then ran into even more trouble before applying for the position once again.
He failed to activate his lights or sirens as he chased a stolen car in June 2024 that ultimately went flying into the air and wrecked six other vehicles. Baker then accidentally fired his Taser while chasing the driver over a fence. As a result of the crash, Baker was docked two days of pay.
Undeterred by the rejection, Baker reapplied for the tactical team in January 2025, with the backing of district commander Michael Tate.
Tate has since been promoted to street Deputy Chief of Police, a high-ranking position responsible for responding and commanding the scene at major events citywide. 

For two years, officer River, had reportedly been in an on-and-off relationship with officer Carlos Baker who in his short time with the department had been the subject of more than a dozen misconduct complaints by the time he shot Rivera dead in the line of duty

After becoming partners, Rivera’s family revealed that the pair were in an on-and-off relationship for nearly two years.
In the wrongful death lawsuit, Rivera’s mother claims that when her daughter discovered Baker was living with another woman while they were dating, she threatened spill about their relationship to his live-in girlfriend.
The suit alleges that Baker showed up at Rivera’s home uninvited the day before he shot her. Furthermore, following the shooting, he failed to provide medical aid or acknowledge he was the shooter.
On the contrary Baker denies they were ever in a ‘relationship.’ He told investigators he and Rivera had ‘no more than’ three intimate encounters.
He said even suggested they continue to work as partners on the tactical team and said they kept hanging out after they were in separate relationships.  
Baker who was relieved of his duties last summer following reports that he battered another 29-year-old off-duty female cop it is alleged, attempted to interfere in the internal investigation into that complaint.
To allegations that he failed to render first aid to his injured partner, Bake counters that he didn’t ‘have time to render aid.’ Besides, he adds ‘It wasn’t going to work.  I knew she had to get to a Level 1 trauma center to surgery, effective immediately.’
Questioned on his decision to climb the stairs away from where the shot was fired, Baker responds that he was shielding himself from what he thought was ‘the line of fire, where the rifle was initially pointed at me.’
And how w long he stayed at the top of the stairs? Baker replied: ‘The whole night felt like seconds.
‘It all felt like it happened in a second. So I don’t recall. I don’t know.’ 

Chicago PD officers wearing shirts with the image of their colleague Krystal Rivera who was killed by friendly fire on active duty, hold hands at a prayer vigil in her honor

Speaking through his attorney Tim Grace, Baker while expressing grief and extended sympathy to Rivera’s family, while placing the blame for her death on the suspect they were chasing.
He said at the time that the then-unreleased body camera footage would refute the Rivera family’s claims.
‘The facts are clear that Officer Baker breached the door on that fateful night and was facing the lethal end of a rifle,’ Grace said.
‘While moving to seek cover and unbeknownst to him, his weapon unintentionally discharged, striking Krystal.
‘The true facts will reveal that Carlos immediately called for EMS, carried Krystal to safety and ensured she was being transported to the hospital. He then re-entered the apartment to apprehend the offenders.
‘The body-worn camera videos will support these facts and challenge the accuracy and veracity of the allegations made in the complaint,’ Grace said.
A hearing on the nine-count wrongful death suit is scheduled for early June.
In the meantime, the suspects who led to the chase, Rucker and Arnold, face multiple narcotics charges in connection with the shooting, although neither is facing a count of murder. They remain in the Cook County Jail with their cases pending.