Family of Krystal Rivera files suit against CPD, partner who shot her, while alleging pair had romantic relationship

In late May, Chicago police Officer Krystal Rivera ended an off-and-on romantic relationship with her partner, fellow Officer Carlos Baker, according to her family and attorneys.

Just days later, Baker shot and killed her while the two tactical officers tried to arrest a weapons suspect on the South Side. Rivera, 36, was the first CPD officer to die in a friendly fire incident in nearly 40 years.

Rivera’s family on Thursday filed a nine-count lawsuit against Baker, the city and Chicago Police Department, alleging willful and wanton conduct, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

“Every day is painful as we continue to grieve the loss of my daughter, Krystal,” Rivera’s mother, Yolanda Rivera, said at a news conference Thursday. “Her child, her sisters, our family, (and) an entire community miss her deeply.

“From this moment forward, my purpose is simple: that those responsible for her death must be held accountable.”

Attorneys for Rivera’s family said Baker was profoundly unfit to be a police officer, as demonstrated by the 11 misconduct complaints in which he was a subject in the years before he shot and killed Rivera. In the moments after the June 5 shooting, Baker did not call a dispatcher for help, nor did he attempt first aid on Rivera, her family’s attorneys said. Instead, he ran from the scene.

“He never should have been a Chicago police officer. He never should have got past his probationary period. He was not fit to police our communities, let alone carry a gun under the color of law,” attorney Antonio Romanucci said Thursday.

“Against all decency, her partner not only shot her, but ran in an opposite direction and left her to die,” Romanucci added.

Representatives for the city and CPD declined to comment on the pending litigation.

In a statement to the Tribune, Baker’s attorney, Tim Grace, expressed grief and sympathy to Rivera’s family but placed blame for her death on the suspect they were chasing. Further, Grace said unreleased CPD body-camera footage refutes the claims by Rivera’s family.

“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 height of both officers, their location, the angle of the service weapon and the exact positioning of both officers created a unique, dynamic and deadly circumstance that could not be duplicated in a controlled environment, not to mention the actual situation they were confronted with,” Grace added. “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 reentered 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.”

Rivera, a four-year CPD veteran with a young daughter, was killed after the Gresham (6th) District tactical team she was part of tried to check on a report of an individual with a weapon at about 9:50 p.m. on June 5 in the 8200 block of South Drexel Avenue.

Authorities previously said that Rivera was running down a hallway when she was shot. Her fellow officers rushed her to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she was soon pronounced dead.

Thursday, though, Romanucci said Rivera was in a tactical position, standing behind Baker, when she was shot. He did not explain how Rivera was shot from behind, but said “somehow he managed to shoot her on a 180-degree angle.”

Records show the Civilian Office of Police Accountability’s shooting investigation remains open.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office found Rivera was shot in her left flank from behind. The fatal shot pierced her skin near her left armpit and traveled through both her lungs, wedging itself in her ribs, autopsy records show.

“Because the lethal injury was caused by another individual who volitionally fired a weapon knowing the action could cause death,” Rivera’s autopsy report stated. “The manner is HOMICIDE.”

Though two men now face an array of weapons and narcotics charges in connection with the shooting, neither faces a count of murder in her death. The two, Adrian Rucker and Jaylin Arnold, remain in Cook County Jail as their cases progress. CPD body-camera footage that captured the shooting also remains withheld from public view.

In August, COPA opened an investigation after Baker allegedly battered an off-duty female CPD officer at a bar in Wicker Park. Soon after, he was stripped of his police powers after he allegedly tried to interfere with CPD’s investigation of the battery.

Maura White, another attorney for Rivera’s family, said a 2022 complaint against Baker alleged that he brandished a gun at a former romantic partner when she was on a date with another person. That investigation was “dropped” after three months.

The next year, in 2023, Rivera and Baker began their relationship, lawyers said. It would continue “on-and-off” for another two years.

In early 2025, Rivera learned that Baker was dating another woman whom he was also residing with. Rivera, at that point unaware of Baker’s other relationship, told him that she planned to speak with the other woman. Baker tried to dissuade her, and Rivera ended the relationship in late May 2025, according to the court document.

On June 4, Baker “show(ed) up uninvited” at Rivera’s home after she told him to stay away. The following day, Baker fatally shot her.

Rivera’s family’s attorneys noted, too, that in the months before her death, Rivera “told her supervisors that Carlos Baker was reckless” and requested that she be reassigned with a new partner.

“CPD failed to protect Krystal,” her mother said through tears Thursday. “There were opportunities to intervene, and yet, nothing was done.

“Krystal believed in justice, and that belief is what led her to wear her badge every day. Now I ask the city of Chicago directly, where is justice for Krystal?”

The first hearing in the case is scheduled for February 2026.