Krystal Rivera shooting: Videos show Chicago police officer fatally shot by partner

Krystal Rivera shooting: Video shows fatal shooting of Chicago officer by partner during pursuit

VIEWER DISCRETION STRONGLY ADVISED: Videos released on Friday show the fatal shooting of Chicago Police Officer Krystal Rivera by her partner last June on the city's South Side.

**WARNING: Viewer discretion advised. Video contains graphic content that some may find disturbing** 

CHICAGO — Videos were released on Friday showing the fatal shooting of Chicago Police Officer Krystal Rivera by her partner last June on the city's South Side.

Rivera, 36, died from friendly fire on June 5, 2025, while chasing a suspect inside an apartment building in the Chatham neighborhood.

Videos of Officer Krystal Rivera shooting released

The backstory:

The incident began around 9:50 p.m., when Rivera and her partner, Carlos Baker, tried to stop a man in the 8200 block of South Drexel Avenue.  The suspect, later identified as Adrian Rucker, ran into a nearby apartment building, prompting the officers to pursue him inside. 

Bodycam videos show Baker and Rivera chasing Rucker up a flight of stairs. Baker kicked open the door to an apartment Rucker ran into and video showed another man pointing what appeared to be a rifle at the doorway.

Baker's body camera shows him falling out of the doorway and firing a shot behind him where Rivera was in pursuit.

Baker then called into his radio "shots fired at police" as he retreated up another flight of stairs. He asked, "Krystal, you good?" before calling an ambulance to the scene.

Bodycam video shows Baker dragging Rivera down another flight of stairs where responding officers rendered aid.

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Rucker ran from the residence but was later taken into custody. Three guns were recovered at the scene.

Rivera suffered a gunshot wound to the back and died at a nearby hospital. Her death was ruled a homicide.

Family of Rivera sues partner, CPD

The other side:

The family of Rivera filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department and Baker last December, claiming he should never have been on the force when he fatally shot her during the chase.

The lawsuit claims that when Baker shot and killed Rivera during the chase, he was struggling to accept the end of his romantic relationship with her.

Attorney Antonio Romanucci, who represents Rivera’s family, said that after Rivera was wounded, Baker never rendered aid, ran to a different floor of the apartment building and did not radio to dispatch that she had been shot, which goes against his training and department policy.

Romanucci said Rivera, with a weak voice, tried to alert dispatch that she'd been shot but was unable to due to the severity of her injuries.

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Attorneys added that Baker "never admitted or clarified that he was the only one who discharged a weapon."

The lawsuit also argues that Baker should never have been a police officer, citing more than a dozen misconduct complaints and three suspensions on his record.

Baker was relieved of his police powers on Aug. 15.

Partner's history of complaints

Dig deeper:

Reporting from the Illinois Answers Project and the Chicago Sun-Times shows Baker had a long history of complaints and investigations, including an Aug. 10 incident at DSTRKT Bar on North Milwaukee Avenue where he allegedly battered a 29-year-old female off-duty Chicago police officer. He then allegedly attempted to interfere in the internal investigation into that complaint.

Romanucci previously said the department failed to act on clear red flags.

"While the Rivera family and their legal team wholly believe removing Carlos Baker's police powers is the appropriate decision, we called for this from the earliest days after he fatally shot his police partner, Krystal Rivera," Romanucci said in a statement.

Full funeral for Chicago Police Ofc. Krystal Rivera

Chicago Police Officer Krystal Rivera was laid to rest on June 25, weeks after she was accidentally shot and killed by her partner during a confrontation with an armed suspect.

He added that concerns about Baker "go back further than the night he killed Krystal," and argued the "city hired this rogue police officer despite knowing he was a danger to the community while he was a probationary officer. They took affirmative action to hire Carlos Baker when the only action should have been to terminate his probation and ensure he never wore a CPD shield or carried a gun. Krystal Rivera would be alive today."