The Civilian Office of Police Accountability on Friday released body camera video from the evening Chicago Police Officer Krystal Rivera was shot and killed by her police partner during a chaotic drug raid operation in 2025, with COPA calling Rivera’s death “tragic” and prosecutors saying it was being investigated as accidental.
The shooting unfolded June 5, 2025, as Rivera, 36, and CPD officer Carlos Baker were pursuing a suspect. In December, a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Rivera’s family said she was standing behind Baker when he kicked down a door in a building on the 8200 block of South Drexel in the Chatham neighborhood as part of the chase.
The lawsuit goes on to say Baker turned 180 degrees and shot Rivera in back, and that he did not immediately call for help for his wounded partner.
The videos, from COPA, come more than 10 months after the shooting, when a judge in the criminal case against the suspects involved in the chase barred their release. Attorneys at the time filed a motion on behalf of NBC Chicago and other organizations to release the videos since Rivera was not shot and killed by the suspect, but by her partner.
Last month, an appeals court overturned the ruling, leading the videos to be made public.
What the videos show
Body camera video worn by Baker shows him chasing after a suspect, later identified as Adrian Rucker, into an apartment complex and then up a flight of stairs. Baker can be heard shouting at Rucker to put up his hands.
At one point, Baker’s body camera video showed Rivera standing in the hallway behind him as he kicks in a unit door. After the door opens, a suspect with what appears to be a firearm can be seen, and Baker can be seen jumping or moving out of the way.
The sound of a gunshot is then heard. Baker then calls for backup, saying “shots fired at the police.”
Rivera’s body camera also shows her chasing after the suspect, with Baker in front of her. As she reaches the top of the stairs, Baker can be seen in front of the apartment door as it opens. Rivera then drops to the ground.
After the shooting, Baker’s camera shows him running up another flight of stairs and sitting at the top. He can be heard saying “my partner is hit, give me an ambulance now.”
About two minutes later, Baker heads back down the stairs and encounters Rivera’s body.
According to officials, Rucker was charged with 113 counts of armed violence, drug possession and more relating to the incident that resulted in Rivera’s death.
The family of slain CPD Officer Krystal Rivera is suing the department and Officer Carlos Baker over her 2025 shooting death. Charlie Wojciechowski has the story.
Baker was Rivera’s former romantic partner, family says
According to the slain officer’s family, she and Baker had been in a romantic relationship that Rivera ended only a month before she was killed. Attorney Antonio Romanucci said Rivera broke off the two-year, on and off relationship because she found out that Baker was living with another woman at the same time.
According to NBC 5 Investigates, Baker also had been brought up on charges a total of 24 times during his three years on the force. While many were considered unfounded, administratively closed, or expunged, he was suspended for a civil rights violation in 2023 and was reprimanded on several occasions.
Attorney Antonio Romanucci said Rivera had gone to her superiors to complain about her Baker’s recklessness, requesting a new partner.
“The Chicago Police Department knew that officer Carlos Baker was a liability. The Chicago Police Department knew that Carlos Baker was unfit for duty as a Chicago police officer,” Romanucci said.
According to the lawsuit, police supervisors knew about the relationship between Rivera and Baker as early as September of 2023. That was almost two years before she was killed.
Department policy does not apply to off-duty relationships between officers, Romanucci said. It only applies when they are on duty, and their work is affected. That was the situation between Rivera and Baker according to attorney Maura White.
“We believe that CPD knew that Krystal had previously requested a different partner because of her safety concerns over Baker’s reckless conduct,” White said.
Since joining the department, NBC 5 Investigates found at least eight incidents of sustained or disciplined incidents against Baker who, only after another allegation of domestic violence, has been stripped of his police powers.
According to Romanucci, “Baker should not have gotten past his probationary period.”
In August 2025, Baker was relieved of his police powers. According to court documents, police and prosecutors were investigating the shooting as accidental. Baker hasn’t been charged with a crime.
