COPA Releases Video Showing Officer Carlos Baker Fatally Shot Officer Krystal Rivera in Chatham Pursuit

Chicago’s police watchdog agency, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), released video Friday showing the moments leading up to the June 5 killing of Officer Krystal Rivera, who was fatally shot by her partner, Officer Carlos Baker, during a pursuit in Chatham.

“CHICAGO — The city’s police watchdog agency has released video from the June killing of Officer Krystal Rivera”

Block Club Chicago

Block Club Chicago said the shooting happened June 5 in Chatham, after Rivera and Baker chased a man into an apartment building in the 8200 block of South Drexel Avenue and encountered a second man who was armed.

Block Club Chicago

In the video described by Block Club Chicago, Baker kicks open the door as a man jumps over a couch and another man points something that appears to be a gun toward the door, after which Baker spins around and says “Wait” before firing a shot.

CBS News reported that Rivera died on June 5, 2025, after being shot by Baker while chasing a suspect after an investigatory stop in Chatham, and that Baker’s body camera captured the shooting.

NBC 5 Chicago said the shooting unfolded June 5, 2025, as Rivera, 36, and Baker were pursuing a suspect, and that COPA called Rivera’s death “tragic” while prosecutors said it was being investigated as accidental.

WGN-TV added that Rivera was fatally shot by her partner during a chase on the city’s South Side, after the duo encountered an armed man and Baker fired a shot that struck her.

Multiple outlets also described the aftermath timing: Block Club Chicago said Baker went to Rivera “Almost two minutes after Baker shot Rivera,” while WGN-TV said Baker “appears to wait about two minutes before checking on Rivera.”

The release of the footage came with COPA’s ongoing oversight and CPD’s continued cooperation, as CPD reiterated that the case remains under review.

Block Club Chicago said the videos were released Friday and were “part of a highly controversial case,” noting that Rivera was killed by “friendly fire,” while CPD had previously described the killing as an accident.

CBS News

In a Friday statement quoted by Block Club Chicago, a police spokesperson said, “Our hearts remain with fallen Officer Krystal Rivera’s family,” and added that “These videos are difficult to watch, and we remind members of the public that there is an active Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) investigation, which CPD continues to cooperate with.”

CBS News similarly reported that COPA released video Friday from Baker’s body camera and that CPD wrote, “Our hearts remain with fallen Officer Krystal Rivera's family. These videos are difficult to watch, and we remind members of the public that there is an active Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) investigation, which CPD continues to cooperate with.”

NBC 5 Chicago said the videos were released “more than 10 months after the shooting,” and that a judge in the criminal case had barred their release until an appeals court overturned the ruling last month.

WGN-TV said COPA released a “host of materials” including “response reports and video that captured the deadly shooting,” and that officials had called the shooting an accident while Rivera’s family called for an outside investigation and release of the body-worn camera video.

Block Club Chicago also described how the video shows Baker’s body-camera moments leading up to the fatal shot and “some of the aftermath,” including Baker’s radio calls for an ambulance.

Baker’s attorney framed the shooting as a consequence of a dangerous, rapidly evolving situation and argued that Baker acted within Chicago Police Department policies.

“Carlos Baker, the Chicago Police Department officer who fatally shot his partner Krystal Rivera while pursuing a suspect, was stripped of his police powers on Friday, but not for the shooting”

Chicago Sun-Times

Block Club Chicago quoted attorney Timothy Grace, saying Baker “acted within the policies of the Chicago Police Department” during the June 5 foot chase and subsequent fatal shooting of Rivera.

Grace told reporters that “The facts are clear that Officer Baker breached the door on that fateful night and was facing the lethal end of a rifle,” and he said that “While moving to seek cover and unbeknownst to him, his weapon unintentionally discharged striking Krystal.”

Grace added that Baker “will not be intimidated” and would continue to defend his actions during the incident.

NBC 5 Chicago reported that in a lengthy statement sent to NBC Chicago Friday, Baker’s attorney said Baker and Rivera were “confronted with a dangerous and life-threatening situation” when the shooting occurred, and that “Like many of our officers on a daily basis, they attempted to apprehend dangerous gun wielding individual from the streets of Chicago.”

NBC 5 Chicago said Rivera’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit, and it described the lawsuit’s account that Rivera was standing behind Baker when he kicked down a door on the 8200 block of South Drexel in the Chatham neighborhood and that Baker turned 180 degrees and shot Rivera in back.

Attorney Antonio Romanucci, representing Rivera’s family, argued in the Sun-Times account that the Chicago Police Department “knew that officer Carlos Baker was a liability” and “knew that Carlos Baker was unfit for duty as a Chicago police officer,” and he said Rivera had gone to her superiors to complain about Baker’s recklessness.

While all outlets described COPA’s release of body-camera video tied to the June 5 death of Officer Krystal Rivera, they emphasized different aspects of the case and the surrounding timeline.

Block Club Chicago stressed that the case is “highly controversial” and that Rivera was killed by “friendly fire,” while it also highlighted the video’s depiction of Baker waiting nearly two minutes before helping her.

FOX 32 Chicago

It framed the moment as a dispute over whether Baker intentionally did not help her, stating that Rivera’s family alleged in a lawsuit that he “intentionally did not help her,” even as the Police Department previously described the killing as an accident.

CBS News focused on the video’s sequence and the relationship context, saying the shooting sparked a “calling Baker reckless and unfit for duty,” and that it “also revealed the two had a romantic relationship, which she ended upon learning he was dating someone else.”

NBC 5 Chicago centered the legal and procedural path to release, saying the videos came “more than 10 months after the shooting” and that an appeals court overturned a ruling barring release.

WGN-TV highlighted COPA’s broader package of materials, stating COPA released “a host of materials” including “response reports and video,” and it reiterated that officials called the shooting an accident while Rivera’s family called for an outside investigation and release of the body-worn camera video.

The Chicago Sun-Times added a separate thread about Baker’s police powers, reporting that he “was stripped of his police powers on Friday, but not for the shooting,” and tying that action to allegations of assault at a bar in Wicker Park.

The video release and the ongoing COPA investigation are unfolding alongside legal action and changes to Baker’s status, with multiple outlets describing what comes next.

“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”

NBC 5 Chicago

Block Club Chicago said CPD relieved Baker of his police powers in mid-August in a separate case, while he still works with the department in a desk position, and it noted that CPD continues to cooperate with COPA’s active investigation.

NBC 5 Chicago

WGN-TV said Baker was later relieved of his police powers back in August after a separate incident outside of a bar in Wicker Park, and it described COPA’s release as including response reports and video.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Baker “was stripped of his police powers on Friday, but not for the shooting,” and it tied the action to allegations that a female officer accused him of assaulting her in a bar in Wicker Park, after which CPD opened an internal investigation.

In that account, Timothy Grace said Baker was not involved in any fight at the bar and did not abuse his authority by trying to investigate the incident himself, and he argued, “We are waiting for all the evidence to come to light.”

John Catanzara, president of Lodge 7 of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), said Baker is “innocent until proven guilty.”

NBC 5 Chicago reported that prosecutors are investigating the shooting as accidental, and it said the suspect was later identified as Adrian Rucker and charged with 113 counts of armed violence, drug possession and more relating to the incident.